Newly released government documents show that Sir Keir Starmer was warned in detail about the risks of appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, including his close ties to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Despite the warnings, the prime minister proceeded with the appointment after his then chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and communications director Matthew Doyle supported the peer.
The files reveal that senior officials raised concerns about Mandelson's relationship with Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 for procuring an underage girl. A record of a call between Cabinet Secretary Simon Case and the prime minister's general counsel Mike Ostheimer stated that Case had 'raised concerns about the individual and reputation' to McSweeney, who responded that 'the issues had been addressed.'
The documents also disclose that Mandelson received a taxpayer-funded £75,000 payout after being sacked in September, to avoid a protracted legal challenge. He had initially demanded more than £500,000. The government has defended the settlement as necessary to prevent higher costs from an employment tribunal.
Opposition leaders have criticised Starmer's judgment. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'Starmer knew Mandelson had stayed close friends with Epstein after the conviction for child prostitution, but made him ambassador anyway. Now we see he paid Mandelson almost £80k of our money. His judgement is shocking.' Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called the documents 'Britain's Epstein files' and urged Mandelson to donate the payout to charity.
The 31 files released by the government did not include correspondence between No 10 and Mandelson regarding his relationship with Epstein, as those exchanges remain subject to an ongoing police investigation into misconduct in public office. A second batch of documents is expected to be published once police confirm it will not interfere with their inquiry.
