Former victims minister Alex Davies-Jones has accused the government of failing to listen to survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying they have been treated as a "footnote" in the row over Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Davies-Jones, who resigned as a justice minister in May, read out a statement from Lisa Phillips, a US survivor of Epstein. Phillips accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of ignoring her requests for a meeting.
“Former minister Alex Davies-Jones says Epstein survivors ignored by government in Mandelson row.”
"Must I now wait for the next prime minister to acknowledge me and my survivor sisters?" Phillips said in the statement.
Davies-Jones said what struck her most "about this whole affair is not what has been said but what has been missing." She told the Commons: "For all the headlines that have been generated by this story, the people whose lives were devastated by Jeffrey Epstein's abuse have too often been reduced to a footnote."
Cabinet Office Minister Darren Jones offered to meet the victims and apologised for "subconsciously" treating Lord Mandelson differently because of his power and influence within Labour.
The exchanges came during a debate about the government's response to a motion forcing it to publish files related to Lord Mandelson's appointment. The peer was sacked in September 2025 after Downing Street said new information about the depth of his relationship with Epstein had emerged.
Sir Keir's decision came after he reviewed emails showing Lord Mandelson sent supportive messages to Epstein as he faced charges for sex offences in 2008.
Davies-Jones said she was "forced to fight tooth and nail" while in government to have the voices of victims heard, leading to her "difficult but necessary decision to resign."
She also noted that while "significant effort" went into cultivating relationships with influential figures in the tech world, victims were left feeling unheard and overlooked.