Peter Mandelson files show how shamed peer pushed for Tony Blair to meet ‘young and vibrant’ Jeffrey Epstein in No10 and described paedophile financier as ‘safe’

Peter Mandelson pressured Sir Tony Blair to meet ‘young and energetic’ Jeffrey Epstein at Downing Street, newly released files show.

Some of the documents released by the government on Wednesday include an email Lord Mandelson sent in 2002.

Lord Mandelson described Epstein as ‘young and energetic’ in a message he sent to Downing Street chief of staff Jonathan Powell at the time.

He told Mr Powell that Epstein was a ‘travelling companion’ of former US president Bill Clinton and that the then prime minister, Sir Tony, ‘wanted to meet him’.

The email was sent to No10 by Lord Mandelson, just over a year after he resigned from the New Labor government for the second time.

A copy of the email was released on Wednesday as part of the first set of documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as Britain’s ambassador to the US last year.

He was dismissed after just seven months in Washington, D.C., after new information emerged about his friendship with Epstein, a convicted pedophile.

The ongoing scandal surrounding Lord Mandelson’s appointment by Sir Keir Starmer has shaken the Prime Minister and forced him to publish details of what he initially knew about his connections with Epstein.

A week later, on 14 May 2002, an email sent to Sir Tony Blair himself informed the then Prime Minister of his meeting with Epstein “at 5pm today”.

Lord Mandelson was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office and accused of passing sensitive information to Epstein while a government minister.

The first part of these documents contains Lord Mandelson’s May 7, 2002 email to Mr Powell, who is now Sir Keir’s national security adviser.

‘Remember when Clinton saw tuberculosis and said she wanted to introduce her traveling companion, Jeffrey Epstein, to tuberculosis?’ he wrote.

‘TB said it was disappointingly (he said) unclear in the office at the time.

‘Jeffrey is an active scientific catalyst/entrepreneur as well as someone who keeps his finger on the pulse of many markets and currencies around the world.

‘Young and energetic. He is safe (whatever that means) and Clinton is doing a lot of traveling with him now.

‘I told TB Jeffrey would be in London next week and he said he wanted to meet him.’

A handwritten note on the printout of the email included in the documents asks Sir Tony: ‘Do you want to do this?’

A week later, on 14 May 2002, an email sent to Sir Tony himself informed the then Prime Minister of his meeting with Epstein ‘today at 5pm’.

The email, from Sir Tony’s private secretary Matthew Rycroft, offered a ‘backstory’ on Epstein, described as a ‘financial advisor and property developer to the super-rich’ as ​​well as a ‘friend of Bill Clinton and Peter Mandelson’.

He added that Epstein was “very rich” and “close” to the Duke of York, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

“He owns a $30 million house in New York, as well as a 10,000-acre farm in New Mexico and a villa in Palm Beach,” said the memo, which was also sent to Mr Powell and another No10 aide, Geoffrey Norris.

‘She made her money working for billionaire Leslie Wexner, who (among other things) owns the lingerie company Victoria’s Secret.

‘She appears to have met Prince Andrew through Robert Maxwell’s daughter Ghislaine, with whom she had an occasional affair. Last year he visited Sandringham and Windsor.

‘Peter says Epstein is now traveling with Clinton and (Clinton) wants you to meet him.

‘He thinks you would find it a worthwhile conversation to have with him about (a) science and (b) international economic and monetary trends.’

The email was sent to No10 by Lord Mandelson, just over a year after Sir Tony resigned from the New Labor government for the second time.

The meeting came six years before Epstein pleaded guilty in June 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

A reference to the email was included in the advice Sir Keir received in December 2024 when he was considering appointing Lord Mandelson as US ambassador.

The advice stated: ‘The Cabinet Office holds official records relating to Tony Blair’s meeting with Epstein, facilitated by Mandelson, which are likely to be released by the National Archives early next year.’

The meeting with Sir Tony came six years before Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.

A spokesman for Sir Tony previously said of his meeting with Epstein: ‘As far as he can remember, Mr Blair met him for less than 30 minutes in Downing Street in 2002 and discussed US and UK politics.

‘He never met or interacted with her afterwards.’

The spokesman added: ‘Of course, this was long before his crimes became known and he was subsequently convicted.’

Clinton acknowledged being a former associate of Epstein but said she had no knowledge of his crimes.

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor became the first senior royal to be arrested in modern history after being detained for nearly 11 hours on his 66th birthday last month.

He was arrested on suspicion of abuse of public office following allegations that he shared sensitive information with Epstein while he was Britain’s trade envoy.

He has denied any wrongdoing regarding his Epstein connections but has not directly responded to the latest allegations.

Lord Mandelson was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office and accused of passing sensitive information to Epstein during his time as business secretary.

He was later released on bail, but was later released from his bail conditions although the investigation was ongoing.

The referee promised to cooperate with the police investigation and “clear his name”.

He has denied that the Epstein files show he broke any laws or acted for personal gain and has repeatedly said he regrets his friendship with Epstein.