Who is Peter Mandelson and what do we know about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?
Peter Mandelson was arrested following allegations that he leaked Downing Street emails to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein while serving as business secretary in Gordon Brown’s cabinet.
A Labor member who was sacked as Britain’s ambassador to the US and resigned from the House of Lords was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Monday afternoon, according to the Metropolitan Police.
This comes after Lord Mandelson announced at the beginning of February that he was resigning as a member of the Labor Party, stating that he did not want to cause “further embarrassment” after recent revelations about his links to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein surfaced.
The so-called Epstein files appeared to show the financier paying for an osteopathy course for Lord Mandelson’s husband, Reinaldo Avila Da Silva, in 2009, when the government was dealing with a financial crisis.
Sir Keir Starmer has faced growing scrutiny over his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador, including backlash from his own backbenchers; his former aide Angela Rayner was among those pressing parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee to decide which documents could be made public.
So how did Lord Mandelson rise from political fixer to prime minister’s key man in the US? So what do we know about her relationship with Epstein?
Peter Mandelson’s career
The former Labor chairman was born into Labor Party politics.
Lord Mandelson is the grandson of former Labor home secretary and foreign secretary Herbert Morrison. When he was only 12 years old, he was invited to Downing Street by his neighbours, then Prime Minister Harold Wilson and his wife Mary.
Young Peter is said to have been “confused” at the time by the opportunity to become prime minister. But Lord Mandelson’s work as the party’s political fixer led to him spending five decades at the heart of Labor politics.
His first brush with Labor politics was his election to Lambeth Borough Council in 1979; where Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer’s private secretary, also cut his teeth working for Steve Reed, now the environment secretary.
But the far-left council was led by a man nicknamed “Red Ted”, and so young Peter Mandelson resigned after just three years, disappointed with Labor policies.
After a stint in television, he was appointed by former Labor leader Neil Kinnock as the party’s communications director, where his status as a political heavyweight began to take shape.
Despite defeat at the 1987 general election, by Margaret Thatcher’s third term in Downing Street, Labor had won dozens of seats and its media operation was praised.
He was selected as the Labor Party candidate for the safe seat of Hartlepool in 1990 and won the seat at the 1992 general election, the last election before the rise of Sir Tony Blair and New Labour.
The party was well on its way to wresting power from the tired Conservative Party led by Sir John Major before the unexpected death of then Labor leader John Smith.
After backing Sir Tony for the leadership, Lord Mandelson found himself at the center of a fight that would dominate British politics, between Blair and Brown.
As a reward for his support, he was made director of Labour’s landslide 1997 general election campaign and was subsequently given a government post.
Later, he was given the responsibility of trade and industry.
After briefly returning to the cabinet, Lord Mandelson set his sights on Europe and took office as the UK’s European trade commissioner in 2004. That mandate could cause friction with the EU-hating Mr. Trump administration.
But four years later Lord Mandelson’s status as deputy leader of the Labor Party would finally be assured. In a controversial move, Mr Brown sought to bolster his government by bringing the former spin doctor back into UK politics by giving him a post and the role of business secretary.
Lord Mandelson became the first political appointee to the post of US ambassador in almost 50 years.
He has faced scrutiny for his roles at the lobbying firm Global Counsel, his connections to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, and his views on China, Europe and globalism at a time when America First is on the rise.
In September 2025, Sir Keir Starmer sacked Lord Mandelson as US ambassador following mounting pressure over his ties to Epstein.
Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
Earlier this month, further connections emerged between new documents dubbed the Epstein files.
Emails showed the convicted sex offender sent £10,000 to husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva in September 2009 to fund an osteopathy course and other related expenses.
The latest revelations follow JPMorgan Chase’s shock report last year, which revealed a “particularly close relationship” between Lord Mandelson and Epstein.
The dossier showed the senior political figure’s ties to the late pedophile, who was close enough to call the former Labor Cabinet minister “Petie”.
The report also alleges that Lord Mandelson stayed at Epstein’s New York home in June 2009; At this time he was still Mr Brown’s business secretary and the financier was serving 18 months in prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Photos of the couple together resurfaced numerous times, and when it was revealed that he would be appointed ambassador to the United States, the photos went viral on social media.
Lord Mandelson’s apparent contribution to the birthday book published by the Congressional committee took the form of a poem to the financier.
“An intelligent, sharp-witted man, whom they once called ‘mysterious’, parachuted into my life,” he opened.
Among the pictures accompanying the note was a photo of Lord Mandelson on a balcony, with his hands on his hips, wearing a pair of swimming trunks, taken from behind.
Lord Mandelson’s note appeared to refer to the “interesting” friends Epstein had left for him to entertain.
“But wherever he is in the world, he remains my best friend,” the report said. Lord Mandelson appeared to add: “Happy birthday Jeffrey, we love you!!”
There is no suggestion that Lord Mandelson, who was a friend of Epstein’s ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, had any knowledge of the pedophile’s wrongdoing.
Lord Mandelson’s spokesman said he “deeply regrets” his contact with Epstein, while allies said the pair met five or six times at most. In January, Lord Mandelson apologized to Epstein’s victims for continuing his friendship with the pedophile financier after his conviction.
“I made a mistake in believing him after his conviction and continuing my relationship with him afterwards. I publicly apologize to the women and girls who suffered because of this,” he said in a statement.
