Gordon Brown has said he deeply regrets bringing Peter Mandelson into his government, describing revelations about Jeffrey Epstein's influence on UK politics as a cause of revulsion. Writing in the Guardian, the former prime minister said Mandelson's passing of information to Epstein while serving as business secretary was “a betrayal of everything we stand for as a country”.
Brown said he took personal responsibility for appointing Mandelson as a peer and bringing him back into government in 2008, after Mandelson had left his role as an MP to become EU trade commissioner. “I greatly regret this appointment,” Brown wrote, adding that at the time he was unaware of any links to Epstein and had been told Mandelson's record in Brussels was “unblemished”.
Mandelson was sacked as Keir Starmer's ambassador to the US in September after new details emerged of his friendship with Epstein. This week's release of thousands of documents about Epstein and his contacts revealed the closeness of their ties, suggesting Mandelson received money from Epstein and leaked market-sensitive information, now the subject of a criminal investigation.
In a statement on Friday, the Metropolitan Police said officers were searching two homes connected to Mandelson, in north London and Wiltshire, as part of an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office offences involving a 72-year-old man, who has not been arrested. Labour MPs have expressed alarm that Starmer's decision to publish thousands of documents could lead to months of damaging headlines.
Prime Minister Starmer has agreed to the publication of all documents, emails and messages connected to Mandelson's appointment, a task government officials described as involving “high tens of thousands” of documents. Starmer has asked the cabinet secretary to work with parliament's intelligence and security committee to review material that may be prejudicial to national security.
