london
—
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was warned that Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein posed a “general reputational risk” before he was appointed British ambassador to the United States, according to a trove of files released by the British government on Wednesday.
In a due diligence report provided to Starmer by his review team in December 2024, officials listed what was publicly known about the veteran Labor politician’s relationship with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Epstein.
“After Mr Epstein was first found guilty of soliciting underage girls in 2008, their relationship continued from 2009 to 2011, beginning when Lord Mandelson was Secretary of State for Business and continuing after the end of the Labor government. Mr Mandelson stayed at Mr Epstein’s home while he was in prison in June 2009, the report said.”
Mr Starmer has faced intense questions about his decision to appoint Mr Mandelson as ambassador last year. Mr. Mandelson’s relationship with Mr. Epstein had been public record for years, but files released by the U.S. Department of Justice provided evidence about the depth and scope of Mr. Mandelson’s relationship with the financier, which continued after Mr. Epstein’s 2008 conviction.
The prime minister sacked Mandelson in September following the Justice Department’s earlier release of the Epstein files. Another set of files released in January sparked further public outrage, with Britain’s Labor government agreeing to reveal details of what it knew about Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein at the time of his appointment.
The review documents cite a 2019 report commissioned by JPMorgan that cited personal records showing that Epstein’s relationship with Mandelson began in 2002 and continued throughout the 2000s.
“Please be aware of the general reputational risks,” the officials wrote in a report provided to Mr. Starmer.
The documents also showed that Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s national security adviser, believed Mandelson’s appointment was “unusual”. In a phone call with Starmer’s lawyers after Mr Mandelson was sacked as ambassador, Mr Powell expressed concerns about Mr Mandelson’s “reputation” with the Prime Minister’s key aides and said he felt the appointment process had been “unusually rushed”.
Senior cabinet minister Darren Jones told MPs in Parliament on Wednesday that the files “revealed that the due diligence process fell short of what was required”.
Another document in the file shows Mandelson’s lawyers have requested payment of the remaining amount of his four-year contract, which is 547,201 pounds (about $730,000). In the end, he received 75,000 pounds (about $100,000).
British police arrested Mandelson last month on suspicion of misconduct in office after documents released by the Justice Department showed he appeared to have leaked confidential British government data to Epstein. He was released after questioning but remains under investigation. Mr Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing and previously said he felt “absolutely awful” about his friendship with Mr Epstein and the “plight of his victims”.
