Peter Mandelson apologises for Epstein association in sudden U-turn

Former ambassador to US had earlier declined to give apology for keeping in touch with sex offender after his conviction

Peter Mandelson has issued an apology for his association with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein - after declining to do so in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

The Labour peer, who was sacked as US ambassador when details of his support for Epstein emerged in September, gave an interview to the BBC in which he suggested that as a gay man he knew nothing of the disgraced financier's sex life.