LONDON: Britain`s ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, has said he deeply regrets ever meeting convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and that he had carried on that association `for far longer than I should have done`.

Mandelson, a veteran Labour politician who was key to the party`s success under former leader Tony Blair, has come under scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein after the release of a birthday book which included a letter purportedly from the now ambassador describing Epstein as `mybest pal`.

In an interview with Britain`s Sun newspaper released on Wednesday, Mandelson said he felt a `profound sense of sympathy for those people, those women who suffered as a result of his behaviour and his illegal criminal activities`.

`I feel a tremendous sense of regret not only that I met him in the first place, but that I continued the association and I took at face value the lies that he fed me and many others,` he said, describing Epstein as a `charismatic criminal liar`.

The release of the document and others involving Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, have brought renewed attention to an issue that has implicated others, including US President Donald Trump and Britain`s Prince Andrew.-Reuters