• Convicted sex offender bequeathed $10m to suspended ambassador Mona Juul’s children
• UK PM offers ‘impassioned’ apology for picking Mandelson as US envoy
• Tory leader calls it ‘question of when, not if’ Starmer goes

NORWAY’S ambassador to Jor­dan and Iraq has been stopped from working as the government is investigating reports that the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein bequ­eathed $10 million to her children.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly apologised to Epstein’s victims for his ‘judgement’ in appointing disgraced politician Peter Mandelson as the British ambassador to the United States.

The scandals on both sides of the North Sea were triggered by the US Department of Justice’s release of three million documents, related to the Epstein investigation, last Friday.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told NRK that Mona Juul “will not serve as ambassador until these matters have been clarified.”

The decision was made in agreement with Juul, who along with her husband Terje Rød-Larsen, was a central figure in the secret Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that led to the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s.

The newly released files exposed extensive contact between Epstein and the diplomatic couple — Juul and her husband, Terje Rod Larsen — suggesting a closer relationship than was previously known. The documents also revealed details regarding a friendship between Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Epstein.

In a written statement to the Norwegian news agency NTB, Juul claimed her link stemmed from her husband’s relationship with the financier, characterising her interactions as ‘sporadic and private’.

She acknowledged she should have exercised greater caution. The inheritance provision in Epstein’s will, which also designated a $10m trust fund for his nephews, sparked political backlash in Oslo.

Guri Melby, leader of the Venstre Party, called for Juul’s resignation and questioned the credibility of her explanations.

Apology to victims

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, currently battling for his political survival, issued an impassioned apology on Thursday to Epstein’s victims for appointing Mandelson as the British ambassador to the US.

Mandelson, a former cabinet minister and European Union trade commissioner, served only seven months in Washington after being appointed last February. Starmer fired him in September following an earlier release of Epstein-related files.

But Friday’s data dump provided new evidence that Mandelson had passed confidential and potentially market-sensitive information to Epstein nearly two decades ago, alongside private photos and intimate email exchanges.

“I am sorry,” Starmer said, addressing the victims directly. “Sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed you, sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him.”

Starmer claimed Mandelson had repeatedly lied to secure the prestigious Washington post and that he was unaware of the “depth and darkness” of the friendship.

However, the prime minister admitted he knew ties had endured despite Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor. This admission caused deep unease within the ruling Labour Party.

“The mood yesterday was the angriest I think I’ve ever seen Labour MPs in the 16 years that I’ve been in parliament,” Labour lawmaker Karl Turner told Times Radio on Thursday. “We can’t pretend that this is not a crisis situation.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch declared Starmer’s position “clearly untenable,” telling Parliament it was “a question of when, not if, he goes”.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2026