Newly released documents indicate that Lord Peter Mandelson maintained contact with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein as late as 2016.
Prior to this disclosure, the last reported interaction between the two occurred in March 2010, when Lord Mandelson, then serving as business secretary, sought counsel from Epstein regarding a banking matter, according to the Daily Telegraph. This occurred mere months after Epstein’s release from prison following convictions for child sex offenses.
Lord Mandelson’s tenure as the UK’s ambassador to the US concluded in September amid scrutiny of his ties to Epstein. This followed the emergence of emails revealing supportive messages sent by Lord Mandelson to Epstein after the latter’s 2008 guilty plea for soliciting a minor.
Lord Mandelson has repeatedly expressed regret over his association with Epstein, who died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The newly released documents, made public by the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee, include a November 6, 2015, email from Epstein to Lord Mandelson. Sent shortly after Lord Mandelson’s birthday, the email reads: “63 years old. You made it.”
Lord Mandelson responded within 90 minutes, stating: “Just. I have decided to extend my life by spending more of it in the US.”
Epstein then replied, “in the Donald White House,” alluding to the upcoming US presidential election later that week.
Epstein further stated, “you were right about staying away from Andrew. I was right in your staying with Rinaldo [sic],” referencing Lord Mandelson’s husband, Reinaldo Avilda da Silva.
When approached by the BBC, Lord Mandelson declined to comment on the emails.
These communications are part of a larger release of 23,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate by US lawmakers.
Lord Mandelson’s past friendship with Epstein has been a matter of public record for some time.
However, his dismissal from the ambassadorial role followed government statements indicating that new information regarding the “depth” of their relationship had come to light, information that was not available at the time of his appointment last year.
According to emails published by Bloomberg in September, Lord Mandelson reportedly advised Epstein to “fight for early release” shortly before Epstein’s sentencing to 18 months in prison for soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor.
In another email sent the day before Epstein began his sentence, Lord Mandelson stated, “I think the world of you.”
Lord Mandelson has previously maintained that he witnessed no wrongdoing during his association with Epstein and was “deceived by his lies.”
A prominent figure in the New Labour movement that propelled Tony Blair to victory in the 1997 election, Lord Mandelson has been a recurring presence in British politics for four decades.
He held various ministerial positions within the government until 2010, when the Labour Party lost power.
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