LONDON — The first rule of Donald Trump diplomacy is not to talk about Jeffrey Epstein. British lawmakers didn’t get the memo.
Hours before the U.S. president touched down in the United Kingdom Tuesday night for a long-anticipated state visit, MPs were lining up in the U.K. parliament to question how Peter Mandelson — a close associate of the convicted pedophile financier — had been allowed to bag the highly sensitive post of British ambassador to the U.S.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Starmer, who seeks to ingratiate himself with Trump as he looks to soften the impact of trade tariffs on Britain’s economy and shore up U.S. support for Ukraine.
Mandelson’s sacking, and the subsequent fallout over who knew what, has pushed the Epstein scandal — a big domestic political problem for Trump — back up the agenda.
Trump has long tried to downplay his own relationship with the disgraced financier.
‘Complete plonkers’
The ire of British MPs in the debate was largely directed at Starmer, whose judgement in appointing Mandelson has been called into question. He gave him the job despite knowing that Mandelson had historic ties to Epstein.
Emily Thornberry, chair of the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said “red flags were obviously missed or ignored” before Mandelson’s appointment, and that “something went very wrong” given Mandelson’s known links to Epstein.
Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch called on Starmer to apologize to Epstein’s victims for making the appointment.
But Trump’s own relationship with Epstein also featured.
Starmer was urged by Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey, a long-standing critic of the U.S. president, to quiz Trump about Epstein when he meets him this week.
Trump “probably is rather embarrassed about his relationship with Epstein,” observed Edward Leigh, a long-serving senior Conservative MP, adding the U.S. president “must be absolutely furious.”
Leigh added that Trump must think “we in this country are complete plonkers, frankly, for the way that we have handled all this,” noting that the experienced career diplomat Karen Pierce had been swept aside for Mandelson, who was controversially given the job as a political appointment.
Be prepared
While the headlines are inconvenient, Trump’s exposure to potential political curveballs had already been limited by those who organized his trip.
A Downing Street official said the visit had been “months in the planning” and that there would be no change in approach following Mandelson’s sacking.
Trump is being hosted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle 25 miles from London as MPs leave Westminster for a parliamentary recess. Trump will not address the parliament, avoiding the potential embarrassment of British lawmakers calling for a boycott.
Downing Street has also tried to safety-proof the state visit with the appointment of James Roscoe as interim ambassador, a seasoned diplomat who previously served as communications director for Queen Elizabeth II.
However, the decision to delay appointing a new ambassador is not without risk.
“It will be a question throughout the state visit,” said one British diplomat, “and, quite frankly, there is every chance Trump will just say something to the press about Mandelson or about who he wants.”
For now, Trump is being a gracious guest.
Leaving the White House to fly to the U.K., Trump described Windsor Castle as the “ultimate” location.
He was “into helping” the U.K. get a better trade deal with the U.S., he added.
Starmer will be hoping that upbeat tone endures.
Esther Webber and Noah Keate contributed reporting.
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