By Robert Mendick

Copyright yahoo

Victims of Jeffrey Epstein want Lord Mandelson to be sacked after he called the paedophile financier his “best pal” in a letter.

The British ambassador to the US is also facing calls to go from Labour MPs, following the publication of the gushing 10-page birthday message in which he told Epstein: “We love you.”

On Monday night, the US House Oversight Committee, which is investigating the paedophile’s network of friends, published a 238-page album of messages compiled for his 50th birthday in 2003.

It included a handwritten message from Lord Mandelson, together with a series of photographs taken on Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little St James. In one, Lord Mandelson is pictured in a bathrobe laughing with Epstein on a veranda.

Epstein’s former housekeeper claimed the pictures were taken in 2002, when the Labour peer stayed on the island for a week. Epstein’s abuse of underage girls was well under way by that time.

Sarah Ransome, 41, one of Epstein’s British victims, told The Telegraph: “Something is really, really wrong here. Peter Mandelson should not be ambassador. He needs to be fired. He is unsuitable to be ambassador.”

She also questioned the Prime Minister’s judgment in appointing Lord Mandelson to represent Britain in Washington DC when it was already public knowledge that he and Epstein were close friends.

“Keir Starmer must have known all this. Everybody knew about Peter Mandelson’s close friendship with Epstein,” she said.

Spencer Kuvin, an attorney who represented nine of Epstein’s victims, said: “By allowing someone with clear ties to one of the worst sex abusers of our time to be ambassador is an insult to the victims of Epstein.

“This man should be questioned by the FBI and the UK government immediately to find out what he knows and whether he has visited any of Epstein’s homes in the past.”

In his letter to Epstein, Lord Mandelson said: “Once upon a time, an intelligent, sharp-witted man they call ‘mysterious’ parachuted into my life.”

On another page, beside a picture of Little St James, the peer wrote about Epstein entertaining “in one of his glorious homes he likes to share with his friends (yum yum)”.

It concluded: “But wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal! Happy Birthday Jeffrey. We love you!!”

The birthday book, compiled by Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell – who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for child sex-trafficking – includes messages from dozens of his associates, some of which include disturbing references to Epstein’s behaviour.

Jack Scarola, a lawyer representing roughly 20 Epstein victims, claimed Lord Mandelson would need to be “deaf, dumb and blind” not to have noticed Epstein’s “inappropriate conduct” and that he would be “an appropriate person to be questioned regarding his observations”.

Epstein’s former housekeeper Cathy Alexander told The Telegraph that Lord Mandelson stayed on the island in 2002 with Reinaldo Avila da Silva, the partner who is now his husband.

She said they stayed for almost a week, having been greeted there by Maxwell, and remembered Lord Mandelson having “a panic attack or a migraine” after spending too much time in the sun.

Mrs Alexander identified herself as one of the women in a picture of Lord Mandelson at a breakfast table, and said the other woman, whose face is obscured, appeared to be Maxwell.

On Tuesday, Sir Gavin Williamson, the Conservative MP, wrote to Sir Keir asking whether Lord Mandelson was properly vetted before being appointed to his prestigious diplomatic role.

He also asked: “Do you believe Lord Mandelson’s conduct and association with a convicted paedophile to be in line with the requirements of the Diplomatic Service Code?”

Lord Mandelson, who says he regrets ever meeting Epstein, was brought back to the political front line by Sir Keir and sent to Washington earlier this year to help navigate Donald Trump’s presidency.

The former cabinet minister and adviser from the New Labour years is said by insiders to have played a key role in Sir Keir and Mr Trump – who is due to visit the UK next week – forming a good early relationship.

But some Labour MPs are privately calling on Lord Mandelson to quit or for the Prime Minister to sack him.

One Labour MP told The Telegraph: “Mandelson has to be responsible for the associations and friendships that he forms. We can make a judgement quite legitimately on relationships that he has made.

“It’s not good enough to say: ‘Whoops, I shouldn’t be associated with him now.’ You shouldn’t have been associated with him then.”

The MP added: “The easiest way round this for Mandelson is to step down. He should put the reputation of Britain abroad first.

“He should realise the damage done and step down. If he refuses to do that then the Prime Minister should do the right thing and sack him.”

A second Labour MP said: “He ought to resign. He knows how to stand down, after all. This would be the third time at least.”

Dame Priti Patel, the shadow Tory foreign secretary, said: “The Prime Minister is again facing criticism over a decision he made to award a top Labour ally with one of Britain’s most important diplomatic and economic posts.

“This is a further distraction for the Government, at a critical time for our economy when our embassy should be focused on removing the tariffs on our steel industry.

“These are serious revelations and Peter Mandelson should of course co-operate in full with any investigation.”

Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, said: “Peter Mandelson has serious questions to answer over this scandal.

“Everyone who celebrated the closeness of their friendship to Jeffrey Epstein should be held fully accountable and that goes both for our ambassador and the US President.”

An official spokesman said Prime Minister had no plans to speak to Lord Mandelson about the letter, and declined to say whether Sir Keir knew about the extent of Lord Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein, or whether he knew about the photo album.

Asked whether Sir Keir still had confidence in his ambassador, the spokesman said: “I’ll just point you to what he’s previously said on this prior to the appointment.

“But we’re focused, obviously, on our relationship with the US. We’ve got president Trump coming from an unprecedented state visit next week to build on the progress we’ve already made between our governments.”

Challenged on whether Sir Keir still had confidence in Lord Mandelson, the spokesman said: “Yes, and as I say the ambassador’s played a key part in all of the achievements I’ve just run through when it comes to strengthening the trade relationship with the US, the UK-US defence deal, and work to end Putin’s war.”

Lord Mandelson was a backbench MP at the time he stayed on Little St James, having resigned as Northern Ireland secretary over accusations he used his position to influence a passport application on behalf of Indian businessman Srichand Hinduja.

He had previously served as trade and industry secretary, but resigned from that post over a scandal involving an undeclared home loan from Geoffrey Robinson, his Cabinet colleague.

Alicia Kearns, the former chairman of the Foreign Affairs select committee and a Tory MP, said: “What does [the letter] say about his suitability to be ambassador to the US representing our country in Washington? It is absolutely outrageous.

“The fact is Peter Mandelson has been unwilling to be transparent. He thinks it is case closed but it really isn’t for the many, many women who have been trafficked, exploited and raped by Epstein.”

Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex-trafficking charges.