LONDON

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that he would have “never appointed” Peter Mandelson, who was sacked last week as US ambassador, had he known the full extent of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"Had I known then what I know now, I'd have never appointed him," Keir Starmer told broadcasters, speaking publicly for the first time since Mandelson was dismissed from his post last week.

The UK’s Foreign Office said in a statement on Thursday that Mandelson was withdrawn from his role "in light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson."

"The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment," the statement added.

The emails reportedly reveal that Mandelson, who held senior roles in the governments of former prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, sent messages of support to Epstein even as the financier was facing jail time for sex offenses in 2008.

Starmer said he was aware by Wednesday afternoon -- before the Prime Minister’s Questions session in Parliament -- that Mandelson had yet to respond to inquiries from government officials but was unaware of the contents of the emails until “very late” that evening, which is when he decided Mandelson had to be “removed.”

The timing of the dismissal has placed Starmer under growing scrutiny, with critics accusing him of mishandling the situation and delaying Mandelson’s removal.

British daily The Times reported earlier that Downing Street and the Foreign Office were aware of the emails on Tuesday, the day before Starmer expressed support to the British ambassador to the US at the parliamentary session on Wednesday.

However, Starmer insists that he did not know the content of the messages.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused the prime minister of "lying to the whole country" about what he knew of Mandelson's Epstein link.