From Labour ‘Prince’ to Epstein shame: How Lord Mandelson fell from grace
Lord Peter Mandelson will face further scrutiny after the government released the first part of documents relating to his appointment as US ambassador.
Cabinet minister Darren Jones said “numerous” files will be released revealing the vetting process and what is known about his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Last month, Lord Mandelson was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office as part of an investigation by the Metropolitan Police following allegations that he passed market-sensitive information to disgraced financier Epstein while serving as business secretary.
It is the latest development in the growing crisis engulfing the former US ambassador, who resigned from the Labor Party and left the House of Lords after more details of his friendship with the convicted criminal emerged in the so-called Epstein files.
Sir Keir Starmer is under increasing pressure after admitting he knew about Lord Mandelson’s ongoing friendship with the convicted sex offender when he took him to task, only to say his peer “repeatedly lied” about the extent of the relationship.
Downing Street then sought to control the release of potentially explosive documents giving insight into how the decision was made.
But in the face of a rebellion by Labor MPs led by former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, the government was forced to back down and hand over control to Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee to decide what should be made public.
The Prime Minister’s admission follows the launch of a criminal investigation into allegations that Lord Mandelson, while serving in Gordon Brown’s Labor administration, passed information to Epstein as he dealt with the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis.
Sir Keir has faced backlash from his own backbenchers, including from his former aide Ms Rayner, over his attempt to withhold some documents “harmful to the UK’s national security or international relations”.
Labor MP Andy McDonald said he thought it was “reasonable to expect a fairly swift response” on how Lord Mandelson passed scrutiny.
“It’s very hard to believe that we could initiate a vetting process that would give someone positive approval under these circumstances,” he said.
He said Sir Keir’s appointment of Lord Mandelson was “an appalling failure of judgement”, given the information already publicly available about him.
In a statement confirming the arrest, the Met said: “Officers arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
“He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday 23 February and taken to London police station for questioning.
“This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.”
Lord Mandelson resigned from the Labor Party earlier this month after losing his job as Britain’s ambassador to the US last year over his links to Epstein, saying he wanted to prevent it causing “further embarrassment”.
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.
These developments It almost certainly signals the end of a career previously defined by remarkable comebacks. His mastery of political intrigue earned him the nickname “Prince of Darkness”.
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 part owner of Global Counsel, a powerful lobbying firm he co-founded, but the firm was quick to reassure clients that they were in the advanced stages of divesting its remaining stake as it sought to cut ties with its peer.
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 be even a touch of the glamor of life at the residence built in the early 1900s for the British ambassador in Washington, one of the most luxurious properties in the US capital.
While it has previously welcomed royalty, from Prince Charles and Princess Diana to popular royals such as The Beatles, guests hosted at the embassy since Lord Mandelson’s move include President Trump’s inner circle and the big and good of American business.
No Labor leader will welcome the tarnished ambassador 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 this latest criminal investigation and subsequent arrest appear to be too great a fall for Lord Mandelson to recover from.
