Peter Mandelson

Peter Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, is a British Labour politician who has held senior positions in UK and European governance. He served as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills under Prime Minister Gordon Brown (2008-2010), as European Commissioner for Trade (2004-2008), and was created a life peer, Baron Mandelson, in October 2008. Appointed the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to the United States in February 2025, he was dismissed in September 2025 over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Connection to Epstein

Mandelson’s contact with Jeffrey Epstein spanned years. In a letter for a book compiled to mark Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, Mandelson described him as “my best pal” and an “intelligent sharp-witted man.” Reporting indicates Mandelson spent close to a week on Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little Saint James in the U.S. Virgin Islands, in 2003, and that he stayed at Epstein’s Manhattan apartment in 2009 while Epstein was serving a prison sentence for a sex offence.

Newly released documents indicate Epstein made three payments of US$25,000 referencing Mandelson in 2003 and 2004 (reported as upwards of $75,000 in total to Mandelson and his husband over the period). Emails released in 2026 also suggested Mandelson shared market-sensitive UK government information with Epstein in 2010, while Mandelson was Business Secretary. Mandelson has denied any criminal wrongdoing in connection with his relationship with Epstein.

Mandelson was named in the Epstein-related materials alongside other prominent figures, including Prince Andrew, whose own ties to Epstein have been extensively documented.

Dismissal as UK Ambassador

Mandelson was appointed UK Ambassador to the United States in February 2025. On September 11, 2025, Prime Minister Keir Starmer dismissed him after the publication of emails — reported by The Sun — in which Mandelson encouraged Epstein to “fight for early release” before his 2008 sentence and suggested the conviction was wrongful and should be challenged. Starmer described the comments as “reprehensible.” The decision was announced in the House of Commons by Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty. Mandelson said he regretted his past association with Epstein and that he had known nothing of Epstein’s criminal activities.

Resignation from Labour and the Lords

On February 1, 2026, Mandelson resigned his membership of the Labour Party, writing that he was “stepping down from membership of the party” and repeating an apology “to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now.” Days later he retired from the House of Lords, with his retirement taking effect on February 4, 2026. He retains his peerage and the title “Lord,” which the Lord Speaker and reporting noted can only be removed by an Act of Parliament; Starmer’s office stated the Prime Minister does not have the power to strip the title.

Criminal Investigation

The Metropolitan Police opened a criminal investigation into Mandelson on February 3, 2026, examining a suspected offence of misconduct in public office in connection with his relationship with Epstein. On February 23, 2026, Mandelson was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and was later released on bail.

Congressional Request to Testify

On February 13, 2026, Representatives Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) wrote to Mandelson asking him to make himself available for a transcribed interview with committee staff regarding Epstein’s crimes. Their letter stated that he “possessed extensive social and business ties to Jeffrey Epstein and hold[s] critical information pertaining to our investigation of Epstein’s operations,” and requested a response no later than February 27, 2026.

The committee sought Mandelson’s voluntary cooperation; it does not have the authority to compel a foreign national abroad to testify, and the request was not a subpoena. Mandelson’s lawyers subsequently informed the committee that he was “unable to appear due to the ongoing investigation by the Metropolitan Police.” Rep. Subramanyam said the committee’s offer for Mandelson to appear still stood.

Context

The request to Mandelson came amid a broader congressional inquiry into Epstein’s network. The House Oversight Committee separately voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of Epstein records, and the fallout from the released files extended to political and business figures in the United States and Europe.

Evidence

These passages come from the Epstein-estate materials released by the House Oversight Committee — the 2003 “birthday book” and the released emails — with our annotations connecting each to the claims this profile makes. Read the originals via the links beneath the panel.

Read the originals: House Oversight — Epstein estate documents (birthday book) ↗ · House Oversight — email correspondence release ↗ · Zeteo searchable copy ↗

Documents

Primary-source records that name or reference Peter Mandelson. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; Mandelson has denied any criminal wrongdoing in connection with his relationship with Epstein.

• House Oversight Committee — additional Epstein estate documents (2025) — This release includes the “birthday book” compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, which contains Mandelson’s roughly ten-page entry describing Epstein as “my best pal.”
• House Oversight Committee — Epstein email correspondence release (Nov. 2025) — The released emails are the basis for the correspondence in which Mandelson urged Epstein to “fight for early release” before his 2008 sentence and suggested the conviction should be challenged — the messages that led to his dismissal as UK Ambassador.