Peter Mandelson, the UK's ambassador to the US, was fired on Thursday, September 11, over possible links with Jeffrey Epstein. On Monday, lawmakers released a "birthday book", which was basically a compilation of everything related to Epstein's 50th birthday that happened in 2003.
It has reportedly been found that the "book" had a handwritten note, seemingly by Mandelson, in which he called Epstein "my best pal." According to CNN, Prime Minister Keir Starmer still defended Mandelson by stating that the latter had his "full confidence." The note by Mendelson reportedly read,
"Wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal."
Later, several emails between Epstein and Mandelson were revealed by Bloomberg, which further intensified the controversy. While Peter Mandelson is currently in the limelight, his romantic life has been quite private. In 2023, Mandelson got married to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, his long-term partner of more than 25 years.
According to IBT UK, the event took place at the Old Marylebone Town Hall in London. Several notable personalities, such as former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Kate Garraway, and her spouse Derek Draper. Mandelson further wrote for The Times and described how the marriage has given him "emotional comfort and strength."
He further wrote that he had to face challenges with his sexuality, claiming that it had been "weaponized" multiple times by the media as well as political rivals.
According to the reports by IBT UK, Peter Mandelson and Reinaldo Avila da Silva first met each other way back in 1996 through mutual friends. Da Silva, at the time, was studying Japanese at SOAS, University of London. In May 2018, shortly after Prince Harry and Megan Markle got married, Mandelson shared his views on the ceremony.
As per reports by The i Paper, Mandelson added,
"Even I am now wondering whether I should finally tie the knot with my partner after 20 years of living together."
Not much information is available about Mandelson's partner since both of them have been quite private about the relationship. However, it is known that Reinaldo Avila da Silva has been a Brazilian translator. The couple had reportedly been living together in London since March 1998.
On Wednesday, Peter Mandelson broke his silence about the entire controversy in an interview with The Sun. Mandelson revealed that he found the words written "very embarrassing". According to him, several such exchanges would surface soon.
According to Mandelson, the messages were sent by him to Epstein, prior to his conviction in the year 2008. In the interview, he further said,
"I regret very much that I fell for his lies. I fell and accepted assurances that he had given me about his indictment, his original criminal case in Florida."
The Foreign Office has confirmed that Peter Mandelson has been withdrawn from his position, taking into account the severity of the crimes that he committed and mindfulness towards the victims.
TOPICS: Peter Mandelson, Epstein