Sir Keir Starmer’s judgement is under renewed attack after newly released papers revealed he was warned in detail about the dangers of appointing Lord Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
The first tranche of documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s employment show the prime minister was briefed that he had “close ties” with Jeffrey Epstein even after the paedophile financier was first convicted of procuring an underage girl in 2008, and that hiring him would bring a “general reputational risk” for his government.
The files make clear that Sir Keir ignored the warnings after his then-chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and former director of communications, Matthew Doyle, who was described in the documents as a “personal friend” of Lord Mandelson, appeared to give support to the Labour peer.
The files also revealed that Lord Mandelson was given a taxpayer-funded £75,000 payout after he was sacked in September as the government sought to avoid a protracted legal challenge – but had first demanded more than £500,000.
Among the revelations in the documents, it emerged that:
- Sir Keir was told that Lord Mandelson stayed at Epstein’s house and they were in touch when he was business secretary
- The PM was warned over Mandelson’s China links and business interests
- National security adviser Jonathan Powell found the appointment “weirdly rushed” while Sir Philip Barton, the most senior civil servant at the Foreign Office (FCDO), also objected
- Lord Mandelson arranged a meeting between Epstein and Sir Tony Blair in 2002, saying the financier was “young and vibrant” and “safe”
The 31 files released by the government did not include correspondence between No 10 and Lord Mandelson, in which a number of follow-up questions were asked about his relationship with Epstein, because those exchanges remained subject to the ongoing police investigation over allegations of misconduct in public office.
Sir Keir has insisted Lord Mandelson “lied repeatedly” to No 10 about the full extent of his relationship with Epstein, but the papers reveal senior officials had concerns over his appointment.
A record of a call between Mr Powell and Mike Ostheimer, the general counsel to the prime minister, said the NSA “raised concerns about the individual and reputation” to Mr McSweeney.
“MM [Morgan McSweeney] responded that the issues had been addressed,” according to the note of the call, made in September 2025 as part of a fact-finding process surrounding Lord Mandelson’s sacking.
The documents heap more pressure on a prime minister whose future has been in doubt for months, and raise further concerns about his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson – who had twice already been sacked from government roles – when there were a number of career diplomats available.
MPs were furious that the documents, published after Labour rebels backed a motion by the Tories calling for their release, came out after Prime Minister’s Questions, leaving chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Darren Jones to answer questions instead of the prime minister.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “Mandelson reportedly leaked sensitive government documents. 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 judgment is shocking.”
Mr Jones defended the payout in the Commons, telling MPs: “The settlement that was agreed was to avoid even higher further costs involving a drawn-out legal claim at the employment tribunal.”
Labour MP Richard Burgon said: “It is clear the prime minister wouldn’t have given the go-ahead for this individual, Peter Mandelson, to stand as a Labour candidate for town council, but instead he was elevated, despite what is in the document, to this most important of positions.
Justin Madders, a former minister in Starmer’s government, added: “If one of my constituents came to see me and told me that they’d lost their job or been sacked because they had lied during the application process and wanted compensation, I would tell them that they had absolutely no chance of doing that.”
Meanwhile, Tory shadow cabinet office minister Alex Burghart said: “These documents just confirm what we already knew. Keir Starmer was plainly aware of the relationship between Mandelson and the world’s most notorious paedophile when he appointed him as US ambassador.”
Sir Ed Davey has called the documents “Britain’s Epstein files” and has urged Lord Mandelson to give his £75,000 payment to charity. The Tories have also called for him to return the payoff.
A second, potentially more damaging batch of papers is due to be published when the police are satisfied that it does not interfere in their criminal investigation into Mandelson, but Mr Jones said that these files will “show that the prime minister was lied to” by Mandelson, who he admitted “should never have been allowed to represent the UK”.
He insisted that Sir Keir “regrets appointing him as ambassador”.
Regarding Mandelson’s Global Counsel lobbying firm, the document states: “Reputational risks could occur relating to any of these clients’ dealings with the UK or USA government. Global Counsel did not declare any lobbying clients under the last quarter of the Sunak administration, media reporting is noting the group’s expansion since the election.”
It lists clients as including TikTok, Shell, Accenture, the Premier League, JP Morgan, Santander, BP, Sizewell C, and Shein.
Sir Keir is already facing questions over an off-the-books meeting he had with Mandelson when he was ambassador in Washington with another of his clients, Palantir.
