Peter Mandelson was dismissed as Britain’s ambassador to the United States on Thursday after fresh revelations about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein plunged Prime Minister Keir Starmer into yet another political storm.

Mandelson had been under intensifying pressure since U.S. lawmakers on Monday released Epstein’s 2003 “birthday book,” which contained a handwritten note from the veteran Labour politician calling Epstein “my best pal.”

Despite mounting scrutiny, Starmer stood by his envoy as recently as Wednesday, telling parliament that Mandelson had his “full confidence.”

But the scandal escalated dramatically hours later when Bloomberg published a series of emails showing Mandelson’s continued support for Epstein, even after his 2008 conviction in Florida for prostitution-related charges. In one message, Mandelson wrote: “I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened.” He also urged Epstein to adopt strategies from Sun Tzu’s Art of War to fight back.

Announcing his removal, the Foreign Office said in a statement that the correspondence revealed “the depth and extent” of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein was “materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.”

The dismissal has dealt a significant blow to Starmer, who is already grappling with a wave of ministerial resignations and growing dissent within his party. Critics have accused him of poor judgment in appointing Mandelson, whose links to Epstein were not a secret.

Mandelson, a longtime Labour figure and former EU commissioner, had only taken up the Washington posting earlier this year.