"As you will have seen my position as Ambassador to the United States has come to an end. Being Ambassador here has been the privilege of my life, and Reinaldo's. I could not have wished for a better welcome by you all, a better introduction to the job or better support while here. Your professionalism has been superb, more so than I have experienced in any public role. For this I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply regret. I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein twenty years ago and the plight of his victims. I have no alternative to accepting the Prime Minister's decision and will leave a position in which I have been so incredibly honoured to serve."
January 1, 1970
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Mandelson