Here is what the Peter Mandelson Files reveal.... so
far
By Mason Boycott-Owen, John Johnston, Andrew McDonald,
Graham Lanktree, Noah Keate and Esther Webber -
"Politico"
-
LONDON — The U.K government has published the first
tranche of its long-awaited files relating to the appointment of former U.S.
ambassador Peter Mandelson following the revelations about his association with
the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson was sacked as Britain’s top Washington
diplomat in September last year, with further revelations prompting a police
investigation into his conduct which led to his arrest last month. He has not
been charged, and his lawyers have said he is cooperating with the investigation and his overriding priority is to clear his
name. He has previously apologized “unequivocally” for his association with
Epstein and “to the women and girls that suffered.”
The files shed new light on how Mandelson was
appointed to the role. POLITICO last
month revealed serious concerns from current and former security
officials about the process which appointed him.
Starmer was warned of ‘reputational risks’
Keir Starmer was warned about the reputational risk of
Peter Mandelson’s “close relationship” with Jeffrey Epstein in a 2019 report
compiled by multinational bank JP Morgan.
Ahead of appointing Mandelson to be Britain’s
ambassador to the U.S. in December 2024, the British PM was warned of the
“reputational risks” from the former British business minister and Labour
politician’s long-time relationship with the disgraced financier.
The key findings of the report were shared in a due
diligence checklist with Starmer on Dec. 11, days before he appointed Mandelson
to the top diplomatic post on Dec. 20.
The 2019 report commissioned by JPMorgan found Epstein
appeared to “maintain a particularly close relationship with Prince Andrew the
Duke of York and Lord Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the British
government.”
Mandelson wanted a payout of more than £500K
Mandelson asked for a severance payment of more than
£500,000 when he was sacked as Britain’s ambassador to Washington last
September — he got £75,000.
Internal Foreign Office emails show the ex-ambassador
got £40,330 “in lieu of three months’ notice” — and a special severance payment
of £34,670.
He asked for a payout of the remainder of his full
salary — £161,318 a year over the four-year term — which “would have amounted
to £547,201.”
Top Foreign Office official Olly Robbins described the
final payout as “good value for money” in a message to Chief Secretary to the
Treasury James Murray in October.
The ex-ambassador’s UK return was delayed by his pet
dog
Mandelson demanded help from the U.K. Foreign Office
in sparing his blushes, and limiting negative press
attention following his departure from the top diplomatic post.
In an email to a senior department HR official he wrote that his “chief concern” centred on how he
would depart the U.S. and arrive in the U.K. with “the maximum dignity and
minimum media intrusion which I think is to the advantage of all concerned.”
“I remain a crown/civil servant and expected to be
treated as such,” he said in the email.
Mandelson also revealed his U.K. return date was set
back because of delays in obtaining a veterinary certificate for his pet dog,
Jock.
Mandelson’s positive views on Nigel Farage were
flagged
A suggestion from Mandelson that Reform leader Nigel
Farage could be used to improve U.S.-U.K. relations was flagged as
another “reputational risk” for the government.
In the lengthy “reputational risks” section of the Cabinet Office’s due
diligence checklist on Mandelson, carried out before his appointment, the
ex-ambassador’s views on Farage are listed along with his
links to Epstein.
“Has suggested using Nigel Farage to better U.K. connections with the Trump
administration,” reads the vetting document, which was presented to Starmer on
Dec. 11, 2024.
It includes a quote from Mandelson while speaking on
a Times Radio
podcast in November 2024 — and noted that his
position contradicted the Labour government’s stance.
It goes on: “Mandelson quoted saying of Farage, contrary to [U.K. 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.’”
Mandelson never appeared to involve Farage, the leader of the right-wing Reform
U.K. and one of Trump’s closest allies in the U.K., in his efforts to build
ties once appointed.
Trump did not try to block Mandelson as envoy
Donald Trump’s team did not raise any major objections
over Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador, the documents suggest.
An email from Olly Robbins, the top civil servant at the Foreign, Commonwealth
and Development Office, to Downing Street in January 2025 outlined that Karen
Pierce, the outgoing ambassador, had spoken to Trump’s then-national security
adviser Mike Waltz and there was “no suggestion that Peter’s nomination was an
issue” with Trump.
Robbins added he would proceed with arranging an audience with the King for
Mandelson — part of the official initiation process.
It’s previously been reported that
Trump, who invited Pierce as a guest to the banquet held in his honor at last year’s State Visit, wanted her to remain in
post.
PM’s comms chief was ‘satisfied’ over Epstein link
responses
Starmer’s former Director of Communications Matthew
Doyle was said to be “satisfied” with Peter Mandelson’s responses when
questioned about his contact with Epstein, the documents suggest.
In a note sent to the prime minister on Dec. 11 2024, which included a copy of the due diligence review
into Mandelson’s background, Starmer was told his chief of staff Morgan
McSweeney had also “discussed Peter’s relationship with Jeffery [sic] Epstein.”
The note added: “But your Director of Communications
is satisfied with his responses to questions about contact.”
Officials flagged Mandelson’s Russia links
The Cabinet Office highlighted Mandelson’s former role
at a company with links to the Russian military ahead of his appointment.
The department’s due diligence report flagged the
former non-executive director role at Sistema, which is a shareholder of the defense company RTI. The report pointed out that RTI
produced technology “for Russia’s land-based missile early warning system,” and
described Sistema’s chairman as a “Putin ally.”
This link was not listed in the reputational risks section, but was included in part of the report titled
“internet searches.”
Mandelson remained on Sistema’s board until June 2017
“long after Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014,” the document said.
Mandelson’s extensively-reported
relationship with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska was not flagged.
Ex-Tory Chancellor George Osborne was in the running
Due diligence checks on an “alternative political
candidate” for U.K. ambassador to Washington appear to have been sought before
the decision was taken to appoint Mandelson.
A U.K. government official, granted anonymity to speak
frankly, confirmed to POLITICO that “alternative candidate” was George Osborne,
the former Conservative chancellor.
The “alternative” candidate is mentioned in a box note
sent by Nin Pandit, Starmer’s then principal private secretary, to the PM on
Dec. 11, 2024 — nine days before Mandelson was announced as the government’s
pick.
It suggests Osborne — once a political enemy of
Starmer’s Labour Party — was seriously considered for the role that eventually
went to Mandelson.
Jonathan Powell says he raised the alarm during
appointment process
Starmer’s National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell
claimed to have raised concerns about Mandelson directly with Starmer’s
ex-chief of staff McSweeney — but was told they had been addressed.
A freshly published document appears to show details
of a fact-finding call between Starmer’s General Counsel Mike Ostheimer and
Powell about the appointment process which took place the day after Mandelson’s
sacking.
A summary of the discussion says that Powell, a
veteran government adviser, found the process “unusual” and “weird rushed.”
According to the document, Powell disclosed that he
had raised concerns directly with the prime minister’s then-chief of staff
McSweeney about the “individual and reputation,” but was told those issues had
been “addressed.”
No. 10 asked for daily ‘welfare check’ on Mandelson
A No. 10 official appears to have requested a daily
“welfare check” on Mandelson.
The request came as Starmer prepared to give in to
opposition demands to release files relating to his appointment, and time as
ambassador to Washington.
“It would also be great to know that there has been a
welfare check and to do one each day if that’s OK for a while,” said an email
from Ailsa Terry, a No.10 private secretary for foreign affairs, to an official
working in human resources.
That email was sent on Feb. 4, shortly after the
government promised to release the texts, emails and documents relating
to Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador.
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(www.politico.eu - This
is a developing story and will be updated).
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