The humiliating journey home: Mandelson’s fall from grace – and what awaits him in UK
Lord Peter Mandelson has resigned from the Labor Party following new revelations about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying he wanted to prevent it causing “further embarrassment”.
The name of this friend, who lost his job as Britain’s ambassador to the US last year because of his connections to Epstein, appears in documents released by the US Justice Department on Friday regarding the disgraced financier.
Sir Keir Starmer spent days rallying around his man in Washington at the time, praising the job the UK ambassador had done in penetrating Donald Trump’s inner circle. But the prime minister was forced to change course last year and immediately sacked Lord Mandelson.
Lord Mandelson said on Sunday he had written to the party’s general secretary, Hollie Ridley, informing her that he was ceasing his membership of the Labor Party.
He said in the letter: “This weekend I became even more involved in the understandable outrage surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, and I regret and am sorry about that.”.
“Allegations that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, which I believe to be false and of which I have no record or recollection, need to be investigated by me.
“I do not want to cause further embarrassment to the Labor Party by doing this and therefore I am resigning from the party.
“I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my apologies to women and girls whose voices should have been heard long ago.
“I have dedicated my life to the values and success of the Labor Party and believe that I acted in its best interests when making my decision.”
Documents included in the statement show Lord Mandelson suggesting to Epstein in December 2009 that he was “trying hard” to change his policy on bankers’ bonuses, shortly after Gordon Brown’s government imposed restrictions on them in the wake of the financial crisis. HE he told the BBC He said on Sunday: “My discussions in government at the time reflected the views of the industry as a whole, not the views of a single individual.”
A bank statement showed a $25,000 payment into the account of Reinaldo Avila da Silva, then Lord Mandelson’s partner and now husband. The statement stated that “Peter Mandelson” was the beneficiary of the payment, as the designation “ME” appeared next to his name. Lord Mandelson said he did not recall receiving such sums and questioned whether the records were genuine.
Following his departure from the party, a Labor spokesman said: “Labour takes all complaints seriously and they are investigated in accordance with our rules and procedures.”
Conservatives have called for an independent investigation into Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to Washington. A party spokesman said: “Lord Mandelson was completely disgraced. But Keir Starmer lacked the backbone to act and allowed Mandelson to resign from Labor rather than fire him.”
“Keir Starmer and his chief of staff appointed Mandelson as ambassador despite his relationship with Epstein and then refused to act even as the mountain of evidence against him grew.
“Given the Prime Minister’s appalling lack of judgment and involvement in the Downing Street operation, a full and detailed independent investigation must now be launched.”
resignation It almost certainly marks the end of a career previously defined by remarkable comebacks.
But despite his humiliation, Lord Mandelson will return to a life of luxury in the UK and continue to wield significant influence in British business and politics.
Last year, before leaving for the US, Lord Mandelson lived in a luxury farmhouse in Pewsey Vale in Wiltshire. He wrote about the “laid-back country life” he enjoyed on the farm during the pandemic.
He is a partial owner of Global Counsel, a powerful lobbying firm of which he co-founded, and serves as chairman of its international advisory board.
He may struggle to regain a foothold in the Labor Party, but Lord Mandelson is likely to return to a position at the heart of the firm he founded.
In the past, Global Counsel has advised multinational giants such as fast fashion retailer Shein and energy giant BP. As well as his influential job position, Lord Mandelson also holds the more ceremonial title of High Commissioner of Hull, but the council will seek to strip him of that title in the coming weeks.
But as he returns to his lavish life in Britain, it won’t even touch the glamor of life at the residence built in the early 1900s for Britain’s ambassador to Washington.
The property, one of the most luxurious residences in the US capital, has recently undergone a close to £120 million renovation, including Andy Warhol’s Queen Elizabeth II. There are also works of art adorning Elizabeth’s walls.
He has previously welcomed royalty, from Prince Charles and Princess Diana to popular royalty like the Beatles.
Among the guests hosted at the embassy since Lord Mandelson’s move are President Trump’s inner circle and the big and good names of the American business world.
Historian Anthony Seldon described the Washington residence as “the finest ambassadorial residence anywhere in the world.”
Symbolically, the residence features a statue of Sir Winston Churchill, with one foot planted on British soil and the other on American soil. Lord Mandelson will soon have both feet on British soil.
No Labor leader will welcome the tarnished noble back into their fold after the extent of his dealings with Epstein were revealed. And he said at one point more “very embarrassing” information would come to light in the future.
His career has been one of many comebacks, but his sacking on Thursday appears to be a fall too far from Lord Mandelson to recover from.
