British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson. File Photo | Image Credit: Reuters
The British government has agreed to release emails and other documents that shed light on the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States. Friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The move comes after the opposition Conservative Party said it would press for a vote in parliament on Wednesday (Feb 4, 2026) calling for the release of emails and other messages relating to Mr Mandelson’s appointment in 2024. Critics say he should never have been offered the job because his relationship with Epstein — though not its extent — was known at the time.
The government agreed to release the requested information “unless it would prejudice UK national security or international relations”. It is not clear how many items will be released or when.
Mandelson, 72, was fired from his job as ambassador in Washington in September after emails were published showing he maintained a friendship with Epstein following the financier’s belated conviction for sex crimes involving minors.
This week, he resigned from the House of Lords and faces a police investigation for alleged misconduct in public office, after a trove of documents released by the US Department of Justice suggested Mandelson may have shared sensitive information with Epstein when he was a government minister a decade and a half ago.
In 2009, he told Epstein he would lobby other members of the government to reduce tax on bankers’ bonuses and passed an internal government report discussing the potential sale of UK government assets. The following year he tipped off Epstein about an imminent bailout of the European single currency.
Newly released files indicate that in 2003-2004, Epstein sent three payments totaling $75,000 to accounts linked to Mandelson or his partner Reinaldo Avila da Silva.
Misconduct in public office carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Opening an investigation does not mean Mandelson will be arrested, charged or convicted.
An email was sent to Mandelson by the House of Lords requesting comment on the documents.
Epstein committed suicide in a prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on US federal charges accused of sexually abusing dozens of girls.
Published – February 04, 2026 06:03 pm IST
