When it comes to British diplomatic political appointments, Washington has always been a key post, keeping the so-called special relationship running smoothly between the two countries, no matter which U.S. president is in office.
It was a surprise, then, to British politics watchers when Prime Minister Keir Starmer shipped veteran Labour politician Peter Mandelson off to Washington in February 2025 to assume the post. Mandelson already had a history of scandal-plagued resignations from positions in previous Labour governments, with one involving an undeclared loan and for his speculated involvement in what’s known as the Hinduja cash for passports affair.
As the U.K.’s ambassador, Mandelson lasted eight months until Starmer sacked him over his resurfaced connections to Jeffrey Epstein. He also resigned as a member of the Labour Party on Sunday.
That resignation came after the U.S. Department of Justice released three million more files related to the convicted sex offender on Friday. The latest drop revealed more details about Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein.
Their friendship was no secret, but it’s only now that the true depth of their ongoing communication is being exposed. Meanwhile, Starmer confirmed for the first time on Wednesday, after fiery questioning from the Opposition leader, that he had known about Mandelson’s longer ties with Epstein before appointing him U.S. ambassador. Starmer said Mandelson had “lied repeatedly” about the extent of their contact.
Now, the prime minister’s judgment is under close scrutiny.
“This is especially problematic for him,” Steven Fielding, a professor emeritus of political history at the University of Nottingham in central England, told CBC News.
“It involves questions of his competence.”
British police have launched an investigation into Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the U.S., over alleged misconduct in public office following claims that he leaked sensitive information to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson has also retired from Parliament’s upper house, the House of Lords, over the Epstein scandal.
Email revelations
Peter Mandelson, a 72-year-old veteran politician, is a former Labour spin doctor who turned the party into an electoral force after years in the wilderness in the 1980s. He spearheaded former prime minister Tony Blair’s landslide election win in 1997, joining both his government and the cabinet of his successor, Gordon Brown.
“He made connections with the rich and the powerful,” said Fielding.
Recently revealed emails between Mandelson and Epstein appear to suggest that in 2009, while he was then-prime minister Brown’s business secretary and de facto deputy prime minister, he shared market-sensitive government information and confidential Downing Street emails with Epstein.
The same year, Mandelson told Epstein he was “trying hard” to change government policy on taxing bankers’ bonuses, suggesting that the then-JP Morgan boss should mildly threaten the British chancellor of the exchequer, the now-deceased Alistair Darling.
Other emails point to Mandelson allegedly tipping off Epstein about a multibillion-dollar bailout from the European Union to save the euro, amid concerns about Greece’s debt crisis widening.
In 2010, Mandelson reportedly helped Epstein’s friend secure a deal with a U.K. business.
Allegations from the files of payments from Epstein to Mandelson and his partner, said to total $75,000 US, remain unexplained. Mandelson said he had no record or recollection of receiving the sums, and believed the allegations to be false, he wrote in a Sunday party resignation letter.
There are also photos, including one of the politician in his underwear, standing next to an unidentified woman in a bathrobe. The context and location are unidentified, as with many images in the Epstein files. U.K. media seized on the photo Wednesday.
Upon Epstein’s July 2009 release from jail for soliciting prostitution from a minor, Mandelson emailed him, calling it “liberation day.”
In an interview with BBC in January, Mandelson apologized “unequivocally” for associating with Epstein after his conviction, suggesting that as a gay man he knew nothing of the disgraced financier’s sex life.
British police confirmed they have now opened a criminal investigation, examining if there is a case to answer for the crime of misconduct in a public office.
Pressure builds on Starmer
In the British House of Commons on Wednesday, Starmer told MPs that Mandelson had “betrayed our country” after “lying repeatedly” about his relationship with the disgraced financier. Starmer said he regretted appointing him to the Washington post.
Opposition MPs are angry, and so are those from within Starmer’s governing party. The British government has been forced to release documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment as U.S. ambassador. Even some of Starmer’s own MPs piled on the pressure to get them out in the open, despite the government originally wanting to limit them, citing security concerns.
Former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is facing more scrutiny after a new tranche of Epstein files uncovered questionable photos and the BBC aired new allegations from a woman linking the two men.
There is a sense that Starmer, who took power after the Labour Party was in Opposition for 14 years, could have coped with this scandal had it not been for his other difficulties. They include issues with the economy, his perceived weakness as leader, a number of U-turns his government has taken on policies, culminating in Labour’s poor standing in recent polling.
“It is political turmoil,” said Anand Menon, European politics professor at King’s College London.
“At the moment, the Starmer government feels like it’s on life support.”
As for Mandelson, “there’s no comeback,” said Fielding, the University of Nottingham professor. “It’s corruption.”
The British tabloid press had dubbed him the “prince of darkness,” as he has always been viewed as a ruthless political operator.
But as this most recent scandal continues to unfold, Fielding said, “his magical powers clearly are now, you know, gone … like that.”