The release of more Epstein documents last week set off a chain of events that has left British Prime Minister Keir Starmer fighting for his political career despite the fact that he never knew the late financier and sex offender.

Starmer comes under pressure to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite knowing about Mandelson’s ties to the US Epstein. New documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice reveal more about the relationship between Mandelson and Epstein, including after Epstein pleaded guilty to a state charge in Florida of felony solicitation of prostitution involving an underage girl.

Starmer, who faces calls to stand down, has apologized to Epstein’s victims for believing Mandelson’s “lies”.

Starmer then held a key meeting with Labor MPs in parliament, in which he said It is said Said he was “not ready to walk away.”

A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office was not immediately available for comment.

Known as the manipulator behind the scenes, nicknamed “prince of darkness” Mandelson served as a Labor member of parliament from 1992 to 2004 and served in Blair’s cabinet.

He left Parliament to become European Commissioner before returning to the UK in 2008 to work with then Prime Minister Gordon Brown and was appointed to Parliament’s unelected House of Lords.

After becoming prime minister in July 2024, Starmer appointed Mandelson as ambassador to Washington in December that year, a role he described at the time as “a great honor”. The appointment was controversial because Mandelson had resigned twice before (in 1998 and 2001) over scandals: once over undeclared loans and another over alleged influence on passport applications.

Downing Street said Starmer sacked Mandelson as ambassador in September after new information came to light about his ties to Epstein.

subsequent Free millions of files A report released last week by the U.S. Department of Justice shed further light on the links between Mandelson and Epstein. They sparked Mandelson’s accusations Sending market sensitive government information Epstein made the suggestion after the 2008 global financial crisis.

One transaction appeared to show that Mandelson gave Epstein advance notice of an impending €500 billion bailout of the bank in 2010.

Last month, Mandelson apologized for remaining friends with Epstein after his 2008 conviction in a statement to BBC Sky News.

He said: “I am not guilty, I knew nothing about what he did and I regret, and I will regret until the day I die, that powerless women were not given the protection they deserved.”

Benchmark rate of return 10-Year Phnom Penh fell 3 basis points to 4.496%, while 30 years in Phnom Penh The yield also fell 4 basis points to close at 5.309%.

Charlie Lloyd, head of investments at Shackleton Advisers, said in a note on Monday that “uncertainty about Keir Starmer’s future will not help the UK bond market, especially given that inflation is set to fall sharply in the coming months and the Bank of England appears to be preparing to cut interest rates as early as March and a further cut or two later in the year.”

Starmer’s resignation will trigger a race within the Labor Party to replace him as leader, which “will almost certainly lead to short-term volatility in UK bond markets and increase borrowing costs through higher yields,” Lloyd added.

He continued: “If Treasury yields are higher than the rest of the bond market for an extended period of time, long-term competition could impact the economy, not to mention the potential impact on consumer confidence.”

Potential candidates to replace Starmer include left-leaning Angela Rayner, Resigned Last autumn, current health secretary Wes Streeting and former party leader Ed Miliband became deputy prime ministers in the wake of the tax scandal.

Current Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham recently blocked He ran in a special election that would have returned him to Congress, paving the way for a potential leadership challenge.

Despite Burnham’s popularity, investors are wary of a shift in efforts by Starmer and his finance minister, Rachel Reeves, to shore up Britain’s public finances.

Kallum Pickering, chief economist at Peel Hunt, said in a note on Tuesday that Burnham “polls strongly” but “whether his successful regional economic policies translate into successful national policy is an open question – and his past quips about the UK being ‘influenced by the bond market’ have alarmed investors.”

Pickering said the fact that Rayner was still under tax investigation “hurt her chances and could lead to talk of replacing a scandal-hit prime minister with another scandal-hit prime minister”. But he added: “Her popularity within the party suggests she may be able to cement ties between the left and moderates.”