UK releases documents showing Starmer knew of risk over Mandelson’s Epstein links

MANCHESTER, England (CN) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was warned that appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S. posed a “general reputational risk” because of his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to officials in government files released Wednesday.

The 147-page dossier, which is the first tranche of records tied to Mandelson’s appointment and later dismissal, also includes an adviser describing the hiring process as “weirdly rushed.”

The files include internal advice, emails and briefing notes prepared before Starmer confirmed the veteran Labour politician as Britain’s envoy in Washington in December 2024.

Mandelson was arrested Feb. 23 and later released on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to sharing sensitive government documents with Epstein. A police investigation is ongoing.

In one advisory note sent to the prime minister on Dec. 11, 2024, officials warned Starmer that a 2009 report commissioned by JPMorgan found Mandelson had maintained “a particularly close relationship” with Epstein even after Epstein’s conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

The same briefing said government records were likely to surface the following year showing Mandelson facilitated a meeting between former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Epstein.

Nine days later, Mandelson was confirmed as ambassador.

Adviser flagged concern s

Separate records show Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s national security adviser, raised concerns about Mandelson and the speed of the appointment.

Powell said he found the selection “weirdly rushed,” according to notes written by the prime minister’s lawyer, Mike Ostheimer, after a call with the adviser.

Ostheimer wrote that Powell had concerns “about the individual and reputation” and passed them to Starmer’s chief of staff at the time, Morgan McSweeney, who resigned in February under political pressure for his role in hiring Mandelson.

Powell also believed the prime minister may have had “a couple of political conversations around this,” though Powell was not part of them, Ostheimer’s notes say.

Six-figure payout

Emails in the files also show Mandelson began negotiations with the government after he was dismissed as ambassador by requesting a payout of $735,000.

Another email shows officials later agreed to a settlement of $100,000.

In Parliament on Wednesday, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones defended the settlement while criticizing Mandelson’s conduct.

“The victims of Epstein have lived with trauma that most of us can barely comprehend,” Jones told lawmakers in Parliament. “They’ve had to relive it again and again, and they have had to see accountability delayed and too often denied.”

He added: “We must all learn this hard lesson and a culture which dismisses women’s experiences far, far too often and too easily; Peter Manderson should never have been appointed.”

Jones said Mandelson’s request for more than half a million pounds was “unacceptable” and “substantially larger” than the final payment.

“The government wouldn’t have wanted to pay 1 pound to Peter Mandelson,” Jones said, explaining the settlement was approved because Mandelson was employed as a civil servant and could have pursued an employment tribunal that might cost more.

Push for Farage to help U.K.-U.S. relations

One document included in the release shows Mandelson suggesting that Nigel Farage, the populist right-wing leader of Reform UK, could help improve London’s ties with the Trump administration.

In a due diligence checklist, Mandelson said of Farage: “You can’t ignore him, he’s an elected member of Parliament. He’s a public figure. He’s a bridgehead, both to President Trump and to Elon Musk and others … National interest is served in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways.”

Farage, a longtime critic of immigration and supporter of Brexit, has cultivated close ties with Trump for years.

He has appeared with Trump at campaign events and was among the first foreign politicians to meet him after his 2016 election victory, positioning himself as a key ally of MAGA in Britain.

Opposition questions Starmer’s judgment

Speaking after Jones’ statement in Parliament, Conservative lawmaker Alex Burghart criticized Starmer’s decision to appoint Mandelson despite warnings.

“It is very clear that these victims were not in the prime minister’s mind when he appointed Peter Mandelson,” Burghart said in the House of Commons.

Burghart questioned how Starmer, who previously served as director of public prosecutions, Britain’s top criminal prosecutor, could not see through what he called “this nonsense.”

Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest party in Parliament, said: “It’s astonishing Mandelson received a payout even after his longstanding connections to Epstein were discovered."

“These files show beyond doubt the prime minister was made well aware of the risks of his appointment. What an insult to the women and girls who suffered at Epstein’s hands,” Davey said.

Davey demanded that the former ambassador donate the severance pay to charity.

“These are the first documents in Britain’s Epstein files,” he said. He urged the government to release all documents relating to the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was arrested on suspicion of sharing sensitive government documents with Epstein before later being released without charge.

One document from May 2002 sent to Blair, then prime minister, noted Epstein’s friendships with Mandelson, the former prince and former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

“Jeffrey Epstein is seeing you at 5 p.m. today,” it reads, describing him as “a financial advisor to the super-rich,” who is “a friend of Bill Clinton and Peter Mandelson,” as well as being “close to the Duke of York” — the former prince.

“Peter says that Epstein now travels with Clinton and Clinton wants you to meet him,” it concluded. “He thinks you would find worthwhile a conversation with him.”

More records to come

Wednesday’s publication does not cover Mandelson’s time serving in Washington. Those records are expected in later releases.

Officials say the remaining files include emails, messages and other documents tied to the vetting process and Mandelson’s tenure as ambassador.

Some are being reviewed by a parliamentary committee for possible redactions tied to diplomatic or government security.

The Metropolitan Police have also asked that some correspondence between Downing Street and Mandelson during his vetting, including follow-up questions and his responses, remains sealed while investigators conduct their inquiry.

Those records could prove central in determining the depths of what Starmer and his advisers knew.

Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.

Follow @jayfranklinlive