Sir Tony Blair met convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in Downing Street in 2002 after a recommendation by Peter Mandelson, newly released National Archives papers show. The meeting took place on 14 May 2002, following an email from Lord Mandelson to Blair's then chief of staff, Jonathan Powell.
At the time, Mandelson was a backbench Labour MP and trusted ally to Blair. In his email, he described Epstein as 'safe', a 'friend', and 'young and vibrant', adding that Epstein was an 'active scientific catalyst/entrepreneur' with a finger on the pulse of global markets. Mandelson noted that former US president Bill Clinton had wanted to introduce Epstein to Blair.
A briefing memo by senior civil servant Matthew Rycroft described Epstein as a friend of Mandelson and Clinton, and close to the Duke of York. The memo said Epstein was 'very rich and close to the Duke of York', and that Clinton wanted Blair to meet him.
A spokesperson for Blair said the meeting was 'long before his crimes were known of and his subsequent conviction'. Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor in 2008 and died in prison in 2019. A government spokesperson said Powell only forwarded the request in his role as chief of staff.
