Mandelson calls Epstein friendship a ‘terrible mistake’ but stops short of apologizing to victims – POLITICO

Former U.K. Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson said continuing his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was “a most terrible mistake,” but he declined to offer a direct apology to Epstein’s victims in his first interview since being fired from his post.

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Mandelson said he regretted believing Epstein’s account after the financier’s 2008 conviction and described his continued association with Epstein as “misplaced loyalty.”

However, he said he would not personally apologize to victims, arguing that responsibility lay with a wider system that failed to protect them.