Image source, Getty Images

Peter Mandelson has been sacked as the UK's ambassador to the US - the third sacking of his long political career.

The trigger, the Foreign Office says, was a cache of emails revealing "additional information" that it says showed his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted paedophile, was "materially different" than known at the time of his appointment.

The BBC understands that Mandelson disputes the Foreign Office's suggestion that the emails show he thought Epstein's conviction was "wrongful", instead that he thought the length of the sentence should be challenged.

Downing Street says Keir Starmer found the emails "reprehensible", and that it was "not involved" in the security vetting before Mandelson's appointment.

Cross-party MPs have had lots to say about the scandal - here's a roundup of what we heard from them.

Mandelson's vacancy has been filled in the interim by the deputy head of the British embassy in Washington, James Roscoe, but who will take up post permanently remains a mystery for now.

We're ending our live coverage here, but for more on this story:

• Latest updates: Starmer facing fresh questions after Mandelson sacking
• Analysis: Why did Starmer take the risk of appointing Peter Mandelson?
• Watch: How Lord Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein got him sacked

• Look back: Peter Mandelson: Rise and fall of Labour's political fixer

Here's the full text from Peter Mandelson's letter to staff at the British embassy in Washington:

"Dear all,

"As you will be have seen, my position as Ambassador to the United States has come to an end.

"Being Ambassador here has been the privilege of my life, and Reinaldo's. I could not have wished for a better welcome by you all, a better introduction to the job or better support while here. Your professionalism has been superb, more so than I have experienced in any public role. For this I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

"The circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply regret. I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein twenty years ago and the plight of his victims. I have no alternative to accepting the Prime Minister's decision and will leave a position in which I have been so incredibly honoured to serve.

"The relationship between Britain and the United States of America is a unique one. I know that you will continue to serve and deepen that relationship from DC right across our brilliant network.

"I wish to thank you for all of your efforts in serving me as your Ambassador. In a short time we have achieved so much. We leave the relationship with the US in a really good condition, with a magnificent State Visit and the new US-UK Technology Partnership - my personal pride and joy that will help write the next chapter of the special relationship - set for next week.

"Thank you from me, Reinaldo [Mandelson's spouse] and Jock [their dog]. I will treasure the experience and memory of having worked with you all.

"Very best,

"Peter, Lord Mandelson"

Mandelson has written a letter to staff at the British embassy in Washington, saying that being ambassador has been "the privilege of my life".

He says he "deeply regrets" the circumstances around his departure and continues "to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims".

We'll bring you his letter in full in our next post.

Jennifer McKiernan
Political reporter

A Sky News exclusive reports that security services flagged concerns around the appointment of Mandelson - but No 10 did not judge them serious enough to block his path to becoming US ambassador.

When I put these concerns to the Foreign Office, a government spokesperson said: "The security vetting process was all done at a department level - with no No 10 involvement.”

It's not known whether Starmer saw any of these details personally. Another government department, the Cabinet Office, deals with vetting and has been contacted for comment.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a "full review of vetting procedures", saying it would be "extraordinary" for Mandelson to have been appointed without the PM having been made aware of the full facts, and the Conservatives have demanded publication of the government’s vetting documents.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Downing Street says it was not involved in the security vetting before Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US.

Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson says security vetting was carried out by government departments. Civil service roles of this nature are offered subject to vetting checks being done.

Asked whether No 10 ignored security concerns reportedly flagged by security services before the appointment, the spokesman says: "No 10 was not involved in the security vetting process.

"This is managed at departmental level by the agency responsible and any suggestion that No 10 was involved is untrue."

Starmer is losing senior figures at the rate of one a weekpublished at 16:44 BST 11 September

16:44 BST 11 September

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Reuters

The current attrition rate of senior figures from the government is running at one a week this autumn.

First Angela Rayner resigns as deputy prime minister, knowing she would be sacked if she didn't.

Next Lord Mandelson is sacked as the UK's Ambassador in the United States.

Each followed a similar pattern.

A drip drip of revelations, the prime minister expressing full confidence in them while not in possession of the full facts about them, and then, after a growing sense of inevitability, they're gone.

In the hours before Lord Mandelson's sacking, even those in government and outwardly loyal to the prime minister's position at the time, were struggling.

Mike Tapp, a home office minister appointed just last week, told Radio 4's Today Programme the emails made him "shudder", and left "a bad taste in the mouth".

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was "completely disgusted" by what he had heard.

Then, just before 11:00, as foreign office minister Stephen Doughty stood up in the Commons to answer an urgent question on Mandelson, my emails pinged - and Lord Mandelson was a goner.

Read more from Chris Mason: Starmer is losing senior figures at the rate of one a week

Sarah Smith
North America editor

A White House official has confirmed to the BBC that President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK will go ahead next week exactly as planned.

There are no changes as a result of Peter Mandelson’s departure and there has been no comment on him being sacked.

Image source, EPA

Over in the US, Ro Khanna, a Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, has just posted on social media about the sacking of Peter Mandelson.

"For those who ask why [Thomas] Massie and I are pursuing this matter with persistence despite political blowback, the answer is that rich & powerful men who covered for Epstein must be held accountable.

"Mandelson is an example. He’s on the left, so it’s not political," he writes.

Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democrat Ro Khanna of California are currently gathering signatures to force a vote in the House of Representatives to publicly release the remaining Epstein files - a move that the White House is vigorously opposing.

Joe Pike
Political & Investigations Correspondent

The BBC understands that Peter Mandelson disputes the suggestion in the Foreign Office statement that he thought Epstein's conviction was "wrongful".

Rather he privately supported his friend, believed was telling the truth and thought the length of his sentence should be challenged.

In an email obtained by The Sun, Mandelson is reported to have told Epstein to “fight for early release".

The statement from the Foreign Office said that the newly-released emails show that Mandelson's relationship with Epstein "is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment".

"In particular Peter Mandelson’s suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information. In light of that, and mindful of the victims of Epstein’s crimes he has been withdrawn as Ambassador with immediate effect," the statement says.

Jennifer McKiernan
Political reporter

The emails between Mandelson and Epstein contain references to "Lefky", believed to be Jay Lefkowitz, who was one of Epstein’s main defence lawyers until 2015.

Lefkowitz was also working as a senior adviser to former US President George W Bush’s administration at the time of an email sent in 2008.

Epstein wrote: "peter, mr. big has a meeting thursday with Lefky. I need your guy to remind him one time before the meeting.. then we are done" and Mandelson responded: "I will get a message. He is travelling at moment."

Bloomberg reported that Lefkowitz has confirmed he met President Bush "that night". A spokesman for the President Bush said he "in no way knew this man and is in no way involved with this story".

Jennifer McKiernan
Political reporter

Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty highlighted the emails containing the suggestion that Epstein's first conviction "was wrongful and should be challenged" is the "new information" that led to Mandelson's sacking.

Bloomberg published a hoard of 100 private emails between the pair, showing Mandelson expressing outrage at Epstein's 2008 prison term for soliciting sex from a minor.

Mandelson wrote: “I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened.

"You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can.

"The whole thing has been years of torture and now you have to show the world how big a person you are, and how strong. Your friends stay with you and love you."

Pictures and contact with Epstein were known when Mandelson was appointedpublished at 14:56 BST 11 September

14:56 BST 11 September

Joe Pike
Political & Investigations correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Keir Starmer and his allies always knew the dangers of appointing Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US.

In autumn last year, when Downing Street were mulling over who to send to Washington, the Labour peer's friendship with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein - and the fact that it carried on after the billionaire was convicted - was part of the PM's calculation.

No 10 argued today that the "depth and extent" of that relationship was "materially different" from what was known last year.

But back then, pictures of Epstein and Mandelson trying on belts in a clothes shop, and blowing out candles on a birthday cake were in the public domain.

News reports before Mandelson's appointment showed contact between the pair even after Epstein's conviction for the sexual abuse of underage girls.

• Read more from Joe Pike: Why did Starmer take the risk of appointing Peter Mandelson?

Labour's Jo White says that reading the emails between Epstein and Mandelson "sickened" her, claiming that Mandelson was not open and honest with the PM. Others in the party share this feeling, with Andy McDonald saying there is "widespread revulsion" within the party.

Emily Thornberry says the Foreign Affairs committee was stopped from asking questions about Mandelson’s appointment by the UK Foreign Office, while Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham tells BBC Radio Manchester that Mandelson's sacking "sounds like the right decision".

Kemi Badenoch, Conservative leader, questions "what Starmer knew and when". She insists there are "serious questions" over how Mandelson was appointed as ambassador to US. Shadow housing minister and former foreign secretary James Cleverly describes the situation as a “total fiasco”.

Lib Dems leader Ed Davey demands that Starmer must "come before Parliament and explain why Lord Mandelson was appointed in the first place, given everything the government knew then." He also asks the PM to appoint someone in Mandelson's place who "will stand up to Trump".

Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage says the sacking of Mandelson "had become inevitable", with this proving the PM is "becoming ever more distanced from his parliamentary party".

Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, says Mandelson's sacking shows that there is "something deeply wrong" with the Starmer government.

Image source, PA Media

Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt describes Peter Mandelson's sacking as "highly embarrassing", noting that it comes just before US President Donald Trump's state visit next week, when the UK will want to look like a "stable and reliable ally".

"Mandelson is a very talented operator," Hunt tells Radio 4's World at One programme, adding that it's easy with the benefit of hindsight to say he should never have been appointed.

He says that it's "inconceivable" that people wouldn't have pointed out the risks of appointing Mandelson to the role of US ambassador. "But you do have to take some risks in the appointments you make and this time it went wrong," he says.

Also on the programme was Ben Bradshaw, a former secretary of state for culture, media and sport, who says it is "undoubtedly a blow", describing Mandelson as "a sort of Icarus type figure" who has proven himself to be "extremely effective in a number of jobs, but at times he's flown too close to the sun".

"There was clearly a risk involved," he says.

Image source, GOV.UK

James Roscoe, the new interim ambassador to the US, had previously been the deputy head of the mission at the British embassy in Washington - a role he's held since July 2022.

Before that, he was the UK ambassador to the UN General Assembly, beginning in 2019.

And prior to that, between 2016 and 2019 he held the post of director for communication at the Cabinet Office, and subsequently the Department for Exiting the European Union.

Roscoe was previously communications secretary to Queen Elizabeth II between 2013 and 2016.

He was also chief press officer for prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown between 2006 and 2009.

Jennifer McKiernan
Political reporter

Mandelson's sacking means a plum diplomatic role needs to be filled - and quickly.

The interim diplomat is James Roscoe, the deputy in the British Embassy over in the US.

Downing Street has confirmed Roscoe will be looking after Trump's state visit next week.

As for the permanent replacement, there could be potential for Dame Karen Pierce to return to the role she left at the start of the year to make way for Mandelson.

Nabiha Ahmed
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

Peter Mandelson has been sacked as the UK's ambassador to the US.

The decision follows revelations that the former ambassador's relationship with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was "materially different" than originally known, the government has said.

If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know:

• Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told Parliament that Mandelson had been sacked because "the depth and extent" of Mandelson's relationship with Epstein was "different from that known at the time of his appointment"

• Emails released overnight show Mandelson had suggested to Epstein that his first conviction was wrongful, Doughty said

• Tory leader Kemi Badenoch says there are “serious questions” about what Starmer knew about the relationship - and when
• James Roscoe has been appointed interim ambassador while the government seeks to replace Mandelson

• Performance in the job has never been Mandelson's downfall - yet again it's something else, writes our chief political correspondent Henry Zeffmann

We're still unpicking the fallout from the emails released last night - stay with us right here as we bring you the latest.

Image source, Reuters

Downing Street says Prime Minister Keir Starmer found Lord Mandelson's emails to Jeffrey Epstein "reprehensible".

Starmer's spokesman was asked if the PM shared the view of two ministers, who said they were disgusted and sickened by the messages. In response, he says: "I think it's self-evident that he found the content of these emails reprehensible".

The spokesman says the depth and extent of Mandelson's relationship with Epstein was "new information".

The spokesman adds that correspondence showed that "Peter Mandelson suggested that Jeffrey Epstein's first conviction was wrongful."

He says that Mandelson's withdrawal comes "in light of that and mindful of the victims of Epstein's crimes."

Jennifer McKiernan
Political reporter

Mandelson's departure comes at an awkward time for the PM, as US President Donald Trump is coming to the UK on his second state visit on Tuesday next week.

Trump has proven tricky to handle and veteran schmoozer Mandelson had been widely seen as handling his mercurial whims well, particularly having helped get the US-UK trade deal over the line.

With less than a week to go to fill his shoes, will a stand-in ambassador be able to build the rapport Mandelson enjoyed for an occasion where behind the scenes diplomacy will be vital, particularly around Russia's war with Ukraine?

Let's not forget that Trump has his own awkward connections to Epstein - so will Starmer's decision to sack Mandelson over his friendship with the convicted sex trafficker be seen as a snub by the US president?

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

I’ve just been at the daily lobby briefing in Downing Street - where journalists ask No 10 questions.

It was dominated by the sacking of Peter Mandelson, as you might expect. The key questions: what did the PM know and what does it say about his judgment?

Downing Street says the vetting process for the ambassador was extensive.

It’s acknowledged that it was in the public domain that Mandelson had stayed friends with Epstein after his original conviction.

But the government is saying emails published overnight showed something "materially different". We’re told No 10 didn’t know about emails suggesting the original conviction was wrongful - and they changed what the PM knew about the depth and extent of the relationship.

Apparently, the emails were from an old address Mandelson no longer had access to.

Some MPs have told me the process has been a shambles. No 10 denied this and insisted the PM acted promptly overnight when new information emerged.

There is now a process under way to find a new ambassador. James Roscoe - who has just been appointed the interim ambassador - will oversee next week's state visit.