Sir Tony Blair met Jeffrey Epstein in Downing Street while he was prime minister after a recommendation by Peter Mandelson, newly released papers from the National Archives show. Epstein visited Blair on 14 May 2002, following a suggestion by Lord Mandelson to the prime minister’s then chief of staff, Jonathan Powell.
At the time, Mandelson was a backbench Labour MP but remained a trusted ally to Blair. In an email to Powell a week before the meeting, Mandelson described Epstein as “safe” and a “friend”, adding that he was “young and vibrant” and had his “finger on the pulse of many worldwide markets and currencies”. Mandelson also noted that former US president Bill Clinton wanted Blair to meet Epstein.
A briefing memo by senior civil servant Matthew Rycroft on the day of the meeting described Epstein as a friend of Mandelson and Clinton, and noted he was close to Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. Rycroft later served as permanent secretary at the Home Office until 2025.
A spokesperson for Blair said the meeting was “long before his [Epstein’s] crimes were known of and his subsequent conviction”. Blair met Epstein for less than 30 minutes, discussing US and UK politics, and never met him again. A government spokesperson said Powell only forwarded the request in his role as chief of staff.
Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008 and died in prison in 2019. The release of the documents had been blocked over concerns it may affect UK-US relations, but the National Archives released them following a freedom of information request.
