From Labour ‘Prince’ to Epstein shame: How Lord Mandelson fell from grace
Lord Peter Mandelson faces a criminal investigation by the Met Police after it was revealed he passed market-sensitive information to pedophile financier Jeffrey 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 will leave the House of Lords after more details of his friendship with the convicted criminal emerged in the so-called Epstein files.
As Sir Keir Starmer faces MPs for Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, the Conservatives will try to force the government to release all documents about how Lord Mandelson got the job in Washington.
The Prime Minister’s weekly appearance in the House of Commons comes after Lord Mandelson launched a criminal investigation into allegations that Gordon Brown, while serving in the Labor administration, passed information to Epstein as he dealt with the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis.
Lord Mandelson will resign from the Lords on Wednesday after recent revelations by US officials sparked outrage across the political spectrum.
It came after the prime minister told his cabinet that allegations that highly sensitive government business had been passed to Epstein were “disgraceful” and that Lord Mandelson had “let his country down”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Sir Keir opened Tuesday’s meeting by saying he was “appalled by the information revealed in the Epstein files over the weekend”.
“He said the alleged forwarding of emails related to highly sensitive government business was disgraceful and added that he had not been reassured that the full information had yet been released,” the spokesman added.
“The Prime Minister told the cabinet that Peter Mandelson should no longer be a member of the House of Lords or use that title and said he had asked the cabinet secretary to review all available information regarding Mandelson’s contact with Jeffrey Epstein during his time as a government minister.”
Former prime minister Mr Brown said he had written to Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley to inform him of Lord Mandelson’s “inexcusable and unpatriotic action”.
Epstein was sent details of internal discussions from the heart of the UK government in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Lord Mandelson appeared to have told Epstein in 2009 that he would lobby ministers over a tax on bankers’ bonuses and that he would approve an imminent bailout of the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.
In June 2009, he appeared to have conveyed what Mr Brown’s adviser Nick Butler called an “interesting memo to the Prime Minister”, his assessment of potential policy measures including an “asset sale plan”.
The financier was also sent an analysis of business loans prepared by minister Baroness Vadera in August 2009.
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.
Metropolitan Police Commander Ella Marriott said: “Following the release of millions more court documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice, the Met has received a number of reports of alleged misconduct in public office, including a referral from the UK government.
“I can confirm that the Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation against a 72-year-old man, a former government minister, for misconduct in public office offences.
“The Met will continue to consider all relevant information brought to our attention as part of this investigation and will have no further comment at this time.”
Lord Mandelson resigned from the Labor Party on Sunday 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 latest 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 appears to be a fall too far from Lord Mandelson to recover from.
