Mandelson-Starmer latest: Former peer’s ‘five-figure’ US ambassador pay-off ‘to be reviewed’ by government

The five-figure exit payment given to Lord Peter Mandelson, who was sacked from his post as US ambassador after the latest publication of the Epstein files, is being examined by the Foreign Office.
Lord Mandelson has reportedly been given a financial settlement worth three months’ salary. Times, It is estimated at between £38,750 and £55,000 before tax and other deductions.
Government sources said an agreement was reached on the payment, with no figures confirmed, but the payment is currently under review, according to the BBC. Social Welfare Minister Pat McFadden suggested Lord Mandelson give the money back and donate it to charity.
Although Lord Mandelson’s salary is not published, his role is thought to be among the highest-paid in the diplomatic services, with salaries ranging from £155,000 to £220,000 per year.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Peter Mandelson’s public service was terminated in accordance with legal advice and the terms and conditions of his employment.
“Normal public services HR processes were followed. Further information will be provided to Parliament as part of the government’s response to the motion, coordinated by the Cabinet Office and passed last week.”
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership is in deep danger as a majority of voters think he should resign, according to a new poll.
McFadden says Starmer acted in ‘good faith’ towards Mandelson
Shaheena Uddin8 February 2026 09:40
Union boss says Keir Starmer should go
The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports:
Steve Wright, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Association, became the first union leader to call for Keir Starmer’s resignation as Prime Minister.
“We are seeing MPs being dismissed again” to defend the position, he warned. “I want to see the change that people vote for,” he added.
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC, she said “yes” when asked if Sir Keir would resign. Speaking in the same program, Labor Tooting Deputy Dr. Rosena Allin-Khan also agreed that Starmer should go.
He complained about the “boys’ club in Downing Street”, saying the culture “needs to stop”.
Shaheena Uddin8 February 2026 09:30
Starmer says cabinet minister Pat McFadden ‘should stay’
Cabinet minister Pat McFadden has defended Sir Keir Starmer and his private secretary, who are under fire in the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal.
“I believe the Prime Minister should stay,” Mr McFadden told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.
“I think he has a five-year term, and that was voted in at the general election about 18 months ago. His term is by no means complete, it’s just begun.”
“I also think it is not good for the country to change its prime minister every 18 months or two years; it leads to economic, political and reputational chaos and uncertainty around the world.
“I know this has been a difficult week, but I think we have to stick with the Prime Minister and support him. He admits he made a big mistake here. He has apologized for it and I’m sure he will learn from it from now on.”
He added that Sir Keir had “acted in good faith throughout this process” and was “horrified” by recent revelations about Lord Mandelson’s links to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Asked whether Sir Keir’s right-hand man Morgan McSweeney should resign, Mr McFadden said: “I don’t think he should…
“After all, this is a prime ministerial appointment and I think what was said about Morgan McSweeney is a bit beside the point.”
Shaheena Uddin8 February 2026 09:20
An ‘absolutely embarrassing’ week for Labor, colleague warns
Labor continues to face criticism and backlash over the fallout from Lord Peter Mandelson’s involvement in the latest release of the Epstein files.
Baroness Ayesha Hazarika told Sky News: “This has been an absolutely shameful week for Labor.”
Times Radio The presenter, who was once a private advisor to Harriet Harman, said he had “never seen this much anger” from people at the party.
But he warned that “this is the ramifications of a boys’ club.”
He pointed out that much was known about Mandelson and his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and asked Sir Keir Starmer why he thought he should replace a woman – Dame Karen Pierce – with Mandelson as US ambassador, “even though she is doing an excellent job”.
He said: “We in the Labor Party need to ask some questions that reflect the spirit.”
David Maddox8 February 2026 09:10
Pat McFadden urges Mandelson to donate payout to charity
Social Welfare Minister Pat McFadden is calling on Lord Peter Mandelson to return the exit payment he received after being sacked following the release of new documents in the Epstein files.
Regarding Lord Mandelson’s receipt of the money, he said: “I don’t think the public would like it” and suggested that he give the money to a charity that helps women who are victims of abuse.
It is understood that Mandelson received a five-figure salary from the Foreign Office when he returned to the UK after withdrawing from the embassy.
Mr McFadden said he felt “betrayed” by the man he used to work with, but insisted he had no idea “about this other side of his life… He was live downloading government materials to a man I had never heard of in America.”

maira butt8 February 2026 08:57
Starmer’s aide warns Mandelson scandal will impact crucial by-election
The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin and political editor David Maddox report:
Lucy Powell told Independent He said the vote on February 26 represented a “line in the sand” in Labour’s fight to stop the advance of Nigel Farage’s UK Reform.
“I think [Mandelson] “It will come up in some parts of the constituency,” Ms Powell said: “more than others for those who follow the news more closely.”

maira butt8 February 2026 08:47
In Focus: ‘It’s over for Starmer. The only question is when, how and how painful.’
As a former Labor prime minister famously said, “a week is a long time in politics”.
This is especially true for Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, who until Friday was managing director of Global Counsel, the lobbying firm he founded with Peter Mandelson.
Mr Wegg-Prosser was a close friend of his former Labor colleague for decades, serving as one of his key advisers and even becoming director of Downing Street’s strategic communications unit under Tony Blair.
The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin and political editor David Maddox report:
maira butt8 February 2026 08:35
Liberal Democrats demand FCA investigate Mandelson for insider trading
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper has called on the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate Lord Peter Mandelson over insider trading allegations.
“The sharing of confidential information with a private financier could easily have given an unfair and lucrative advantage in the financial markets to both Epstein himself and his associates,” Cooper said in his letter to the FCA. Guard.
“Mandelson could also have profited personally from this arrangement.”
He added: “He and others will face criminal prosecution if they are found to have abused trading laws for financial gain.”
maira butt8 February 2026 08:20
Sadiq Khan supports Keir Starmer
Sir Sadiq Khan has defended the Labor leader’s handling of the Peter Mandelson debate, saying Sir Keir Starmer “should stay”, likening politics to a 90-minute football match and branding his disgraced colleague “arrogant”.
But Sir Sadiq said Observer: “Football is a 90-minute game. You are 2-0 behind in the 35th minute, you wouldn’t think of saying we will remove all the players and dismiss the coach. The mayor, who has been in office for ten years, also targeted Peter Mandelson, saying he was the “only person who knows” what is in the Epstein files.
Sir Sadiq said: “The whole Mandelson saga is a case study in ‘there is one rule for the elite and the establishment and another for the rest of us’.
“This also shows the man’s arrogance. The only person who knew what was in these files was Peter Mandelson. It is not credible that he is still putting himself forward as the US ambassador.”
Alisha Rahman Sarkar8 February 2026 08:10
Mandelson’s pay is under scrutiny after reports he received five-figure payouts after being sacked
Lord Peter Mandelson reportedly received a payment worth tens of thousands of pounds after he was dismissed from his post as US ambassador due to new details emerging in the latest part of documents published in the Epstein files. Times.
Government sources have confirmed a financial agreement has been reached, although some figures have not been confirmed but the payout is currently under review, according to the BBC.
Although the salary is not published, the position is among the highest-paid in the diplomatic services, ranging from £155,000 to £220,000 per year.
His exit left him with the equivalent of three months’ taxpayer-funded salary, the report said. Times and is estimated at between £38,750 and £55,000 before tax and other deductions.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Peter Mandelson’s public service was terminated in accordance with legal advice and the terms and conditions of his employment.
“Normal public services HR processes were followed. Further information will be provided to Parliament as part of the government’s response to the motion, coordinated by the Cabinet Office and passed last week.”
maira butt8 February 2026 07:54




