Labour Peer Issued Stark Warning Over Mandelson US Ambassador Appointment
A Labour peer has today disclosed how he cautioned Downing Street against appointing Peter Mandelson as Britain's ambassador to the United States more than twelve months ago. Lord Maurice Glasman detailed how he dispatched a memorandum to Morgan McSweeney, who has since resigned as the Prime Minister's chief of staff, following his attendance at Donald Trump's inauguration last year.
Inappropriate Choice and Epstein Photographs
Lord Glasman stated he informed Number 10 aides after the event on 25 January 2025 that Lord Mandelson represented an 'inappropriate choice' to serve as the UK's most senior diplomat in Washington DC. The peer elaborated that his fellow Labour member was 'the wrong man' for the role, recounting how individuals in Washington showed him photographs of Lord Mandelson alongside the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
'When I was in DC, it was almost exactly a year ago, people just walked up to me with their phones,' he told Sky News. 'Peter Mandelson blowing out the birthday candles with Jeffrey Epstein and in his bathrobe... all these pictures.'
Premiership Crisis and New Labour Critique
The scandal surrounding Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador has plunged Sir Keir Starmer into the most severe crisis of his eighteen-month premiership. As the Prime Minister struggles to maintain his position, Lord Glasman advised Sir Keir to 'repent and reject' the ideas of New Labour, of which Lord Mandelson was a principal architect during the late 1990s, asserting that such ideologies lead to 'perversion and paedophilia'.
It has emerged that the memo sent to Mr McSweeney by Lord Glasman explicitly warned: 'Withdraw Peter Mandelson. He is the wrong man at the wrong time in the wrong place.' The memorandum, dispatched in early 2025, additionally proposed a 'bold' alternative appointment for US ambassador could be Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
Downing Street's Response and Ongoing Investigations
Lord Glasman further commented that Dame Karen Pierce, the incumbent US ambassador, was performing 'a fine holding job' with the Trump administration. Speaking to Sky News on Sunday regarding his caution to Downing Street about Lord Mandelson's appointment, Lord Glasman remarked: 'What I wrote was, 'he was the wrong man, in the wrong place, at the wrong time'.'
'I mean, it was a very inappropriate choice because... this issue of Epstein is massive in the States, I don't think then, a year ago, we understood the resonance of this story.' Lord Glasman added that Downing Street 'didn't take my advice' in early 2025, and suggested Sir Keir could not 'conceive of this scale of duplicity' concerning Lord Mandelson's connections to Epstein. 'I don't think he understood the scale of the risk,' he said.
Lord Mandelson was appointed as Britain's ambassador to the US by Sir Keir in February 2025 but was dismissed in September last year over his associations with Epstein. Recently released documents in the United States, known as the 'Epstein files', have subsequently unveiled further particulars about Lord Mandelson's relationship with the paedophile financier.
Police Investigation and Denials
The Metropolitan Police has initiated an investigation following allegations that Lord Mandelson transmitted market-sensitive information to Epstein while serving as business secretary in Gordon Brown's government during the financial crisis. Scotland Yard has indicated its probe into Lord Mandelson regarding alleged misconduct in public office would 'take some time' after officers completed searches of his residences in London and Wiltshire.
Lord Mandelson has denied that the so-called 'Epstein files' demonstrate he violated any laws or acted for personal advantage. He has consistently expressed regret over his friendship with Epstein.
