diff --git a/unattended-upgrade b/unattended-upgrade
index 86358b19..d5797d60 100755
--- a/unattended-upgrade
+++ b/unattended-upgrade
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ import contextlib
 import copy
 import datetime
 import errno
-import email.charset
 import fcntl
 import fnmatch
 import gettext
@@ -40,6 +39,7 @@ import grp
 import inspect
 import io
 from importlib.abc import Loader
+import importlib
 import importlib.util
 import locale
 import logging
@@ -71,7 +71,6 @@ except ImportError:
 
 from collections import defaultdict, namedtuple
 from datetime import date
-from email.message import Message
 from gettext import gettext as _
 from io import StringIO
 from optparse import (
@@ -1613,6 +1612,10 @@ def _send_mail_using_mailx(from_address, to_address, subject, body):
 
 
 def _send_mail_using_sendmail(from_address, to_address, subject, body):
+    # workaround LP:2080940, email.errors changes as part of a security
+    # update in python itself so import this as late as possible
+    import email.charset
+    from email.message import Message
     # type: (str, str, str, str) -> int
     # format as a proper mail
     msg = Message()