LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced the biggest crisis of his leadership because of his decision to appoint a close ally of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to the plum job of U.K. ambassador to the United States.
Many warned him not to appoint Peter Mandelson, a 72-year-old grandee of the Labour Party, to the job. Starmer, who never met Epstein, accepts that Mandelson's appointment was a mistake, and has apologized to Epstein's victims as well as to Labour and the country as a whole.
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FILE - Britain's Ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, speaks during a reception at the ambassador's residence on Feb. 26, 2025 in Washington. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump, left, gets a reaction from Britian's ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson, right, as they take questions from members of the media after announcing a trade deal between U.S. and U.K. in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, file)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer talks with members of the audience after delivering a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Peter Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Starmer remains in office, but questions remain as to how long he can do so.
How one appointment nearly brought the demise of the prime minister:
Under Starmer, Labour returns to power after 14 years in opposition with a landslide victory on a promise to dial down the politics, following the turmoil of the preceding Conservative years.
Starmer appoints Mandelson the U.K. ambassador to the U.S., despite knowing of his previous relationship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, and of his two previous resignations from Tony Blair's government in 1998 and 2001. Mandelson, it was hoped, would be able to use his undoubted charm and networking skills to help the U.K. be spared from tariffs that the incoming Trump administration was planning.
Mandelson plays a central role in Starmer's visit to the White House, during which U.S. President Donald Trump is invited to the U.K. for an unprecedented second state visit.
On the eve of Trump's visit, Starmer fires Mandelson after email exchanges between him and Epstein are published, which indicate that he maintained a friendship with the disgraced financier after his 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. Starmer's judgment in appointing Mandelson is openly questioned, and Mandelson warns there may be more embarrassing disclosures to come.
The U.S. Justice Department publishes more than 3 million pages of documents related to Epstein.
Mandelson quits his membership in the Labour Party to avoid causing "further embarrassment” as a result of his links to Epstein. A few days later, he resigned his place in the U.K.'s revising chamber, the House of Lords.
Epstein files indicate that Mandelson shared market-sensitive information to the disgraced financier in 2009 when he was a member of then Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government during the global financial crisis. The files also indicate that a year later, he tipped off Epstein about an imminent 500 billion-euro deal to prop up the European single currency. Payments reportedly totaling $75,000 from Epstein to accounts linked to Mandelson or his partner Reinaldo Avia da Silva are also revealed.
British police open a criminal investigation into Mandelson over alleged misconduct in public office.
Starmer agrees to release documents casting light on the decision to appoint Mandelson, and promises to introduce legislation to strip Mandelson of his honorific title of Lord Mandelson. A visibly shaken Starmer tells Parliament that Mandelson had “lied repeatedly” about his ties to Epstein. Starmer faced angry questions about his judgment, with some Labour lawmakers suggesting that he should resign.
Starmer apologizes to Epstein’s victims, saying Mandelson had portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew. “I am sorry, sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed you,” Starmer said. “Sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him.”
Police search two properties linked to Mandelson.
Morgan McSweeney, Starmer's chief of staff, quits, saying he takes full responsibility for advising the prime minister to appoint Mandelson. Critics say advisers advise, but leaders decide.
Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labour, urges Starmer to stand down, saying “there have been too many mistakes." Cabinet ministers rally behind the prime minister and Starmer wins the support of Labour lawmakers at a crucial behind-closed-doors meeting. “I’m not prepared to walk away from my mandate and my responsibility to my country,” he said.
FILE - Britain's Ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, speaks during a reception at the ambassador's residence on Feb. 26, 2025 in Washington. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump, left, gets a reaction from Britian's ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson, right, as they take questions from members of the media after announcing a trade deal between U.S. and U.K. in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, file)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer talks with members of the audience after delivering a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Peter Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie released the first surveillance images Tuesday showing a masked person with what appeared to be a handgun holster on her porch the night she went missing more than a week ago.
Video released by the FBI shows the person wearing a backpack, long sleeves and pants and walking up to the door at the home of the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. The footage shows the person trying to cover a camera near the front door with their gloved hand before putting plants in front of the camera.
The images show “an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance,” Patel said on X. In the videos, the person appeared to be wearing the holster attached to their front waist area.
This was the first major break in the investigation that has raised more questions than answers, including whether the 84-year-old who disappeared from her home in Arizona is still alive and comes as law enforcement and her family intensified calls for assistance from the public.
Up until now, authorities have released few details, leaving it unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines already passed were authentic and whether the Guthrie family has had any contact with the abductors.
Savannah Guthrie posted several of the surveillance images with the caption: “We believe she is still alive. Bring her home,” and phone numbers for the FBI and county sheriff. Within minutes, the post had thousands of comments.
Investigators had been hopeful that cameras at the home would turn up some evidence about how she went missing, but the doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday. And while software data recorded movement at the home minutes later, Nancy Guthrie didn’t have an active subscription, so none of the footage could be recovered, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had said.
The new images released Tuesday were “recovered from residual data located in backend systems” after investigators had spent days trying to find images or video that may have been lost, corrupted, or inaccessible, Patel said.
The announcement follows heartbreaking messages made by Savannah Guthrie and her family over the past days that have shifted from hopeful to desperate as they plead with the apparent kidnappers to hand over their mother.
It's also unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have already passed were authentic, or whether the Guthrie family has had any contact with the abductors.
Guthrie and her family have posted a series of videos over the past week, each striking a different tone. The latest message from Savannah Guthrie, in which she appeared alone, was more bleak.
“We are at an hour of desperation,” she said Monday, telling the public: “We need your help.”
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her house just outside Tucson. She was last seen there Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day after not attending church. DNA tests showed blood on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, and a doorbell camera was disconnected in the early hours of Sunday morning, the sheriff has said.
Authorities say Nancy Guthrie needs daily medication because she is said to have high blood pressure and heart issues, including a pacemaker.
Investigators were in her neighborhood several times over the past few days and plan to keep working Tuesday as they expand the search and follow up on new leads, the sheriff’s department said.
Three days after the search began, Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings sent their first public appeal to the kidnappers, telling them “we want to hear from you and we are ready to listen.”
In the recorded video, Guthrie said her family was aware of media reports about a ransom letter, but they first wanted proof their mother was alive. "Please reach out to us,” they said.
Law enforcement officials declined to say whether the letters sent to several media outlets were credible but said all tips were being investigated seriously.
The next day, Savannah Guthrie’s brother again told the kidnappers to reach out "so we can move forward.”
“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” Camron Guthrie said.
Then over the past weekend the family posted another video — one that was more cryptic and generated even more speculation about Nancy Guthrie's fate.
“We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” said Savannah Guthrie, flanked by her siblings. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
Up to that point, the family's first three videos addressed the kidnappers directly.
But just ahead of Monday's deadline spelled out in a purported note, Savannah Guthrie urged people nationwide to be on the lookout “no matter where you are, even if you’re far from Tucson, if you see anything, if you hear anything.”
Her turn to the public comes as much of the nation is closely following the dramatic twists and turns involving the longtime anchor of NBC’s morning show.
The FBI this week began posting digital billboards in major cities from Texas to California.
Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI, said Monday that the agency wasn’t aware of ongoing communication between Guthrie’s family and the suspected kidnappers. Authorities also had not identified any suspects or persons of interest, he said.
“Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home,” he said.
Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio.
A Pima County Sheriff's Office member stands next to his vehicle in front of Nancy Guthrie's home Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
FILE - This image provided by the Pima County Sheriff's Department on Feb. 2, 2026, shows a missing person alert for Nancy Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff's Department via AP, File)
A small vigil grows near Nancy Guthrie‘s house, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
A woman walks her dog past a Pima county sheriff's vehicle parked in front of Nancy Guthrie's home on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
A member of the Pima county sheriff's office walks around Nancy Guthrie's home on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
