McSweeney said the decision to appoint Mandelson was wrong and called for the government’s due-diligence process to be overhauled, while stating he did not oversee that process. Mandelson was removed from the envoy role in September after his links to Jeffrey Epstein became publicly known, and additional Epstein-related documents released on January 30 disclosed further details of the association; Mandelson has denied wrongdoing.