London: The scandal over Jeffrey Epstein has spilled into British politics in a slow-motion drama that has claimed the scalp of an influential Labour insider, Lord Peter Mandelson, over his years of friendship with the convicted sex offender.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has sacked Mandelson as the country’s ambassador to the United States after days of revelations that showed he maintained his relationship with the disgraced financier even after Epstein’s crimes were exposed – and that their ties were deeper than previously known.

Mandelson, a cabinet minister and powerbroker in the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, has been revealed as an Epstein ally who not only helped his friend win financial deals but stood by him when he was jailed in 2008 for sex with unde

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