It was meant to be a speech about something called “pride of place” – the Government’s version of the Tories’ “levelling up” programme – which tips public money into deprived areas that need it.

But even Sir Keir Starmer knew that the headlines from it would be about something else altogether.

“Tomorrow’s front pages are unlikely to be about the Pride in Place programme,” he said.

No, they certainly won’t be, Prime Minister. Instead they will be all about why you appointed Lord Mandelson to be UK ambassador in Washington when you knew about at least some his links to the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The PM tried to addressed this issue at the start of his 20 minute speech in Hastings, insisting that he was not aware of the “depth and darkness” of the two men’s relationship, as detailed in the Epstein files.

He spat out the word “Mandelson” whenever he mentioned him (the contrast with a year ago when Mr Starmer praised him as “Peter” at glitzy reception at the British embassy in Washington was stark).

The gist was that Mandelson had misled Mr Starmer in his answers about his links to Epstein before his appointment.

And the PM was sorry, very very sorry. I counted five mentions of “sorry”, and three of “apology” in this speech and answers to the press afterwards.

Addressing Epstein’s victims, he said: “I am sorry. Sorry for what was done to you. Sorry that so many people with power failed you. Sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him. And sorry that even now, you are forced to watch this story unfold in public once again.”

The central argument from Mr Starmer is that he took Mandelson’s insistence that he did not have a deep friendship with Epstein at face value (Mandelson has not responded to these claims that he lied over his links to Epstein).

But why did Sir Keir not delve further when he appointed Mandelson in late 2024?

The PM had forged his career as the country’s chief prosecutor, jailing serious criminals for wrongdoing.

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Is this conversion to incurious Keir as PM credible?

The atmosphere in the room was the PM took questions from a pre-selected list of journalists (No10 declined to take one from GB News) was tense as his Communities Secretary Steve Reed and No10 director of communications Tim Allan looked on.

Mr Starmer again said sorry to Epstein’s victims for allowing Mandelson back into public life.

“I believed what he said to me. I apologise. I regret that,” the PM said.

A Guardian reporter read out a litany of criticism from MPs about Starmer’s defence for promoting Mandelson, asking whether his “authority is fatally undermined”.

Mr Starmer replied that he could “understand the anger of Labour MPs”, and he shared it “but we are changing this country for the better”.

There was a burst of applause as he said he would carry on delivering for the country.

But the question for Sir Keir is whether saying sorry will be enough to get him out of his biggest crisis since he became Prime Minister 18 short months ago.