Prime Minister Keir Starmer was warned of risks in making Peter Mandelson Britain’s ambassador to Washington, documents released yesterday showed, reviving questions about his judgement in appointing a man close to Jeffrey Epstein.
The publication of the first tranche of documents covering the vetting of Mandelson, who is under police investigation for allegedly leaking government documents to the late sex offender, does little to reduce the pressure on Starmer, who is under fire over the appointment and a series of policy U-turns.
The more than 100 pages of documents suggested concerns were raised about the “reputational risks” in appointing Mandelson because of his friendship with Epstein but also over his previous resignations from government and his support for closer ties with China.
Starmer sacked Mandelson from what is considered the most prestigious posting in Britain’s diplomatic service in September, when the depth of his friendship with the convicted sex offender started to become clear.
After ceding to pressure from the opposition Conservative Party last month to release the documents, the government published the first tranche but suggested more revealing exchanges could not yet be produced due to the police investigation.
A document labelled “Advice to the prime minister, checks conducted on 4 December, 2024”, said: “After Epstein was first convicted of procuring an underage girl in 2008, their relationship continued across 2009-2011, beginning when Lord Mandelson was business minister and continuing after the end of the Labour government. Mandelson reportedly stayed in Epstein’s house while he was in jail in June 2009.”
In a summary of a fact-finding call between Starmer’s general counsel and national security adviser Jonathan Powell in September, a document said Powell had found the appointment process “weirdly rushed”.
Despite Starmer’s defence that Mandelson had lied to him over the extent of his relationship with Epstein, in parliament some opposition legislators said the documents showed the prime minister had known about their ties for some time.
Several legislators expressed shock over Mandelson’s demands for severance pay. He had asked for £547,201 in compensation after being fired but was given £75,000, in what the government described as a “reasonable settlement”.
Further documents will be released at a later date, papers which the prime minister’s team say will prove Mandelson lied to Starmer about the extent of his relationship with Epstein before his appointment as ambassador in December 2024.
Darren Jones, Starmer’s chief secretary, told parliament that the government had learned lessons from the appointment and had taken steps “to address weaknesses in the system”.
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