From Labour ‘Prince’ to Epstein shame: How Lord Mandelson fell from grace

Lord Peter Mandelson is facing a criminal investigation from the Met Police after appearing to pass market-sensitive information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein while serving as business secretary.

It is the latest development in the growing crisis engulfing the former US ambassador, who has resigned from the Labour Party and will leave the House of Lords after further details of his friendship with the convicted felon emerged in the so-called Epstein files.

The Conservatives will seek to force the government to release all papers relating to how Lord Mandelson got the Washington job as Sir Keir Starmer faces MPs for Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

The prime minister’s weekly appearance in the Commons follows the launch of a criminal probe into allegations Lord Mandelson passed information to Epstein while serving in Gordon Brown’s Labour administration as it dealt with the fallout from the 2008 financial crash.

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Lord Mandelson is to step down from the Lords on Wednesday, after the latest revelations released by US authorities sparked outrage across the political spectrum.

It came after the prime minister told his cabinet that the alleged transmission of highly sensitive government business to Epstein was “disgraceful” and Lord Mandelson had “let his country down”.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said Sir Keir opened Tuesday’s meeting by saying he was “appalled by the information that had emerged over the weekend in the Epstein files”.

“He said the alleged passing on of emails of highly sensitive government business was disgraceful, adding that he was not reassured that the totality of information had yet emerged,” the spokesperson added.

“The prime minister told cabinet that Peter Mandelson should no longer be a member of the House of Lords or use the title, and said he had asked the cabinet secretary to review all available information regarding Mandelson’s contact with Jeffrey Epstein during his time serving as a government minister.”

Former prime minister Mr Brown said he had written to Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley to provide information relating to Lord Mandelson’s “inexcusable and unpatriotic act”.

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Epstein was sent details of internal discussions from the heart of the UK government after the global financial crisis.

Lord Mandelson appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby ministers over a tax on bankers’ bonuses in 2009, and to confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.

In June 2009 he appeared to have passed on what he called an “interesting note that’s gone to the PM”, an assessment by Mr Brown’s adviser Nick Butler of potential policy measures including an “asset sales plan”.

The financier was also sent an analysis of business lending in August 2009 drawn up by minister Baroness Vadera.

One bank statement showed a payment of $25,000 made to the account of Reinaldo Avila da Silva, who was at the time Lord Mandelson’s partner and is now his husband. The statement appeared to describe “Peter Mandelson” as the beneficiary of the payment, as the allocation “BEN” appears next to his name. Lord Mandelson said he had no recollection of receiving such sums and questioned whether the records were genuine.

Commander Ella Marriott, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “Following the further release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice, the Met received a number of reports into alleged misconduct in public office including a referral from the UK government.

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“I can confirm that the Metropolitan Police has now launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former government minister, for misconduct in public office offences.

“The Met will continue to assess all relevant information brought to our attention as part of this investigation and won’t be commenting any further at this time.”

Lord Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday, saying he wanted to avoid causing it “further embarrassment”, after losing his post as UK ambassador to the United States last year because of his links to Epstein.

Sir Keir Starmer rallied around his man in Washington for days at the time, praising the job the UK’s ambassador had done penetrating Donald Trump’s inner circles. But the prime minister was forced to change course last year, dismissing Lord Mandelson with immediate effect.

These latest developments mark what is almost certainly the end of a career that had previously been defined by remarkable comebacks. His mastery of political intrigue had earned him the nickname “Prince of Darkness”.

Last year, before heading to the US, Lord Mandelson was living in a luxurious farmhouse in the Pewsey Vale in Wiltshire. During the pandemic, he wrote about the “cosy country life” he was enjoying on the farm.

He is the part-owner of Global Counsel, a powerful lobbying firm he co-founded, but they have swiftly reassured clients that they are in advanced stages of divesting his remaining stake as it attempts to cut ties with the peer.

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As well as the influential business position, Lord Mandelson has the more ceremonial High Steward of Hull title, though the council will try to strip him of it in the coming weeks.

But while he returns to a lavish life in Britain, it won’t be a touch on the grandeur of life in the early-1900s residence built for Britain’s ambassador in Washington, one of the most luxurious properties in the US capital.

It has previously welcomed royalty from Prince Charles and Princess Diana to pop royalty like The Beatles, while guests who have been hosted in the embassy since Lord Mandelson moved in include much of President Trump’s inner circle and the great and good of American business.

No Labour leader will bring the tarnished grandee back into the fold after the extent of his relations with Epstein were revealed. And he has said himself at one point that further “very embarrassing” information will come to light in the future.

His career has been one of many comebacks, but this latest criminal investigation seems a fall too far for Lord Mandelson to recover from.