Files show British prime minister was warned of ‘reputational risk’ in appointing Mandelson

Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, leaves his house in London, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was warned that Peter Mandelson ‘s friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein exposed the government to “reputational risk,” but he still appointed him as ambassador to the United States, documents released Wednesday show.

Starmer fired Mandelson after nine months in the job when new details of the relationship with Epstein emerged, and now faces a political storm over the appointment. The newly published files show the prime minister ignored red flags raised by his staff when he appointed the savvy but controversial Mandelson to the U.K.’s most important diplomatic post.

Mandelson was briefly arrested last month by police investigating allegations he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago.

A two-decade friendship with Epstein

Concerns were raised in a document sent to Starmer in December 2024 when he was considering appointing Mandelson, an elder statesman of the governing Labour Party, to a diplomatic post seen as vital to establishing relations with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

A “due diligence report” prepared by senior civil servants summarized a relationship between Mandelson and Epstein that ran from at least 2002 -- the year Mandelson “facilitated” a meeting between Epstein and then-Prime Minister Tony Blair -- to 2019, the year of Epstein’s death.

The document notes that “Mandelson reportedly stayed in Epstein’s house while he was in jail in June 2009” for sexual offenses involving a minor, and cites a 2019 report commissioned by JPMorgan which said Epstein had “particularly close relationship” with the then-Prince Andrew and with Mandelson.

It also spelled out unrelated reputational issues over Mandelson’s work in a previous Labour government -- when he twice had to resign over financial matters -- and his work at Global Counsel, a lobbying firm he co-founded.

Despite the red flags in the documents, Cabinet minister Darren Jones said the due diligence “did not expose the depth and extent” of Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein. He said Mandelson had lied to Starmer about the friendship.

“Peter Mandelson should never have been afforded the privilege of representing this country,” Jones told lawmakers in the House of Commons. “I reiterate for the House that the prime minister deeply regrets taking him at his word. It was a mistake to do so.”

Political fallout could hit Starmer

Starmer fired Mandelson in September after an earlier release of documents showed he had maintained contact with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction.

Further details about Mandelson’s ties with Epstein, revealed in a huge trove of files published by the U.S. Department of Justice in January, raised new questions about Starmer’s judgment, driving opponents and even some members of the governing Labour Party to call for the prime minister’s resignation.

Starmer survived the immediate danger, but his position remains fragile, even though he never met Epstein and is not implicated in his crimes.

The 147 pages of documents published Wednesday were released after lawmakers forced Starmer’s government to disclose thousands of files about the decision to name Mandelson to the key diplomatic post at the start of Trump’s second term.

The government says the files will show Mandelson misled officials.

The documents are being published in batches after review by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee. Police have asked the government not to release files that could compromise their criminal investigation into Mandelson.

The documents published Wednesday note that Mandelson was asked questions about his relationship with Epstein, and say the prime minister’s communications director was “satisfied with his responses.”

The responses themselves have not yet been published because of the police investigation.

And the files raise more questions for Starmer. After Mandelson was fired, National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell told the prime minister’s lawyer that he had raised concerns about “the individual and reputation” and found the appointment process “weirdly rushed,” the documents show.

Ed Davey, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, said Starmer had made a “catastrophic failure of judgment.”

Conservative lawmaker Alex Burghart said that while Mandelson might have lied to the prime minister, “he wasn’t lied to by this due diligence document.

“The prime minister knew all he needed to know. It was on him. It’s on him now. He let his party down. He let his country down. I very much doubt that either will trust him again.”

Mandelson faces a police probe

The Epstein files released in January suggest that Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to the convicted sex offender when he was the U.K. government’s business secretary after the 2008 financial crisis. That includes an internal government report discussing ways the U.K. could raise money, including by selling off government assets.

Mandelson also appears to have told Epstein he would lobby other members of the government to reduce a tax on bankers’ bonuses.

Mandelson, 72, was arrested Feb. 23 at his London home on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has been released without bail conditions as the police investigation continues.

He has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged. He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.

He has been forced to resign from the House of Lords, and has lost his 157,000 pound (US$210,000) a year ambassador’s salary. The documents show that after being sacked Mandelson asked for a 547,000 pound payoff, the rest of his four-year salary.

In the end, the government gave him 75,000 pounds.

Jill Lawless, The Associated Press