Mandelson appointment as US envoy ‘weirdly rushed’, said top Starmer aide
Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US was “weirdly rushed”, Sir Keir Starmer’s national security adviser said, according to the first tranche of files relating to the peer’s selection for the diplomatic role.
New Labour veteran Jonathan Powell “was particularly cautious about the appointment” and “raised concerns” about Mandelson and his “reputation”, documents published on Wednesday showed.
Mandelson’s ties to Epstein and his two resignations from Sir Tony Blair’s government were described as evidence of “general reputational risk” in the due diligence documents prepared for the prime minister.
The checks flagged that the peer had continued his relationship with Epstein after the financier’s conviction for soliciting sex from a minor.
Alex Burghart, Conservative shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “The prime minister claims he was lied to. He wasn’t lied to by this due diligence document.”
Other documents showed Mandelson demanded £547,000 as compensation for his sacking as UK envoy to the US last September — his salary over his full contractual term.
He ultimately received severance pay of about £75,000, consisting of £34,670 of discretionary payments on his departure, on top of the £40,329 to which he was legally entitled.
The prime minister agreed to release the papers in response to questions about Mandelson’s vetting in 2024 and what was known about his links to Epstein, who was found dead in a New York jail cell in 2019.
But only a small proportion of the documents — expected to run into the tens of thousands overall — was published on Wednesday afternoon.
Some papers are being held back from public view while Mandelson — who has insisted he has not acted in any way criminally and was not motivated by financial gain — is investigated by the police for possible misconduct in public office.
After the documents were released, Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister, said they showed the “due-diligence process fell short of what is required”.
“Jeffrey Epstein was a despicable criminal who committed the most horrifying and disgusting crimes . . . [His] victims will always be our priority,” he told MPs.
Ministers braced for more revelations from Mandelson papers
Ministers are braced for a deluge of further revelations concerning the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as UK envoy to the US, even after the first tranche of documents was published on Wednesday.
One reason for Number 10’s nerves is that the release consisted of 147 pages, the tip of the iceberg out of an estimated 100,000 documents that could end up exposed to the public’s gaze.
The government is obliged to produce any messages between Mandelson and senior government figures for six months before his appointment, as well as during his stint as ambassador. He took up the role in February last year and was sacked in September.
Only those messages posing significant security concerns — as decided by parliament’s cross-party intelligence and security committee — will be exempt.
Starmer orders Whitehall standards overhaul
Sir Keir Starmer has ordered an overhaul of Whitehall standards to bolster the vetting process around key appointments and to strengthen financial interest declarations in the wake of the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal.
The Cabinet Office said the “Mandelson case has . . . shown more needs to be done”, as it announced plans to review the national security vetting system.
Officials would also examine “how ministers and senior officials declare and publish their financial interests, how transparency around lobbying is enforced, and whether the rules on post‑employment activity are fit for purpose”, the department said.
Moves to tighten House of Lords rules on lobbying to bring them into line with the House of Commons are also being explored.
Mandelson, who was sacked as UK envoy to the US last year, quit the Lords last month but retains his title.