8 Things We've Learned From The First Batch Of Peter Mandelson Files
The first batch of documents related to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to the US has been released by the government.
The highly-anticipated drop is one of at least two volumes expected to cause major embarrassment for ministers. Here’s what you need to know.
Why Is This A Big Deal?
The former Labour peer was sacked from his position in September after the depth of his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was revealed.
Further details about their extensive relationship emerged in the US Department of Justice’s Epstein files in late January, including suggestions that Mandelson passed sensitive information to the disgraced financier when in cabinet.
The former minister has denied any allegations of wrongdoing, including misconduct in public office.
The saga has raised questions about how much the government knew prior to appointing Mandelson to the plum job and how thorough the vetting process was.
While Starmer insisted Mandelson “lied” to him about his Epstein friendship, ministers have since been forced by the Conservatives to release their internal documents related to his appointment.
But some of the requested information has been held back to avoid prejudicing the ongoing police investigation into Mandelson over misconduct in public office.
Other files are still being reviewed by the Cabinet Office because the government wants to redact them for national security or diplomatic reasons.
A separate committee of MPs then gets to decide which redactions to honour.
Here’s what we know after the first tranche of information dropped...
What The First Batch Of Documents Revealed
1. Mandelson Received £75,000 Payout
Mandelson received a hefty severance payment of £75,000 when he was sacked last autumn.
The documents show the Foreign Office came to that number by combining £40,330 “in lieu of three months’ notice plus a termination payment of £34,670”.
The US ambassador role typically has a baseline salary of £152,000, but he received £157,000 per annum. He then had a further bump, taking his pay to £161,318 per year.
2. Mandelson Asked For More Than £500,000 As A Pay-Off
He initially requested a sum more than six times the final amount granted to him.
An email exchange shows Mandelson began payout negotiations by asking for the Foreign Office to pay out his four-year contract – which would have been a sum over £500,000.
“The government found that to be inappropriate and unacceptable,” chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones told MPs today. “The sum that was agreed was to avoid a drawn-out process at an employment tribunal.”
3. Due Diligence Did Flag The Epstein Friendship
Official advice sent to the prime minister from December 2024 warns of the “general reputational risk” that comes with Mandelson.
The document pointed to a 2019 report which showed Epstein appeared to “maintain a particularly close relationship” with Mandelson after the financier spent time behind bars.
The advice noted that they remained in contact from 2002 and throughout the 2000s. Epstein was convicted of procuring an underage girl in 2008, but he maintained a friendship with Mandelson “across 2009-2011”.
It also pointed out that friendship began when Mandelson was business minister and continued “after the end of the Labour government”.
It notes Mandelson agreed to be a “founding citizen” of an ocean conservation group funded by Epstein and founded by his associate Ghislaine Maxwell in 2014.
The advice notes that these links to Epstein were widely reported in January 2024, too.
4. Mandelson Once Suggested Introducing Blair To Epstein
The documents include an email from May 2002 between then-MP Mandelson and Tony Blair’s chief of staff Jonathan Powell.
Mandelson suggests introducing the prime minister to Epstein – whom he described as a “young and vibrant” entrepreneur and “friend of mine”.
“He is safe (whatever that means),” Mandelson wrote. “And [Bill] Clinton is doing a lot of travelling with him.”
It is not clear when this meeting took place.
5. Mandelson Proposed Starmer Use Farage To Connect With Trump
Mandelson said the prime minister could use the MP for Clacton to “better UK connections with the Trump administration”.
A due diligence checklist sent to Starmer in December 2024 noted that Mandelson “has suggested using Nigel Farage”.
It adds: “Mandelson quoted saying of Farage, contrary to UKG (UK government) policy: ’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.’”
6. National Security Adviser Said The Mandelson Appointment Was ‘Rushed’
The documents show the summary of a call between the general counsel to the prime minster, Mike Ostheimer and Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser in September.
Speaking after the ambassador had already been sacked, Powell said the appointment process “unusual of Lord Mandelson” was “weirdly rushed”.
Powell also raised concerns “about the individual and reputation to Morgan McSweeney”, Starmer’s then-chief of staff who was known to have a close relationship with Mandelson.
McSweeney supposedly said these issues “had been addressed”.
McSweeney has since stepped down from his post.
7. Mandelson Expected To Be Treated With ‘Maximum Dignity’
In an email to the Foreign Office organising his return to the UK after he was sacked, Mandelson demanded to be treated well.
He said: “My chief concern is leaving the US and arriving in the UK with the maximum dignity and minimum media intrusion which I think is to the advantage of all concerned, not least because I remain a crown/civil servant and expect to be treated as such. How is the FCDO assisting in this ?”
8. No.10 Suggested A Daily Welfare Check On Mandelson
Officials in No.10 proposed carrying out a “welfare check” on the ex-ambassador in early February, shortly after the US Department of Justice released all of its own documents around Epstein.