Peter Mandelson, a former heavyweight of the UK political scene, is stepping down from his position in the House of Lords in light of new revelations in the Epstein files, the speaker of the house announced on Tuesday. Mandelson’s connection to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was already known about, but newly released files showed that the Labour Party politician had sent emails to the deceased sex offender offering nuggets of information, and in doing so may have broken the law. A spokesperson for Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the emails sent to Epstein contained "likely market-sensitive information."
UK police are looking into whether Mandelson could face a criminal investigation. That investigation was announced on Monday, a day after Mandelson also quit the Labour Party. Starmer’s spokesperson on Tuesday said the prime minister told his Cabinet that his government would cooperate with the police in any inquiries, and also said he was not reassured that all pertinent information had yet emerged.
What are the new revelations about Peter Mandelson?
The new Epstein file release — more than 3 million pages of documents related to the US Justice Department’s case — shows how Mandelson passed on sensitive information around the time of the 2008 financial crisis. In one case, the then business secretary in the UK government sent Epstein an internal government report that was looking at how the country could raise money following the crash, including suggesting the sell-off of government assets. In May 2010, he sent another message that "sources tell me 500 b euro bailout" is almost complete. It came just hours before European governments announced a €500 billion deal in an attempt to protect the euro.
Who is Peter Mandelson?
Mandelson, 72, has been a fairly prominent figure in British politics since the early 1990s, when he first took a seat in the House of Commons. He was particularly known for his skills as a strategist and fixer, working as the Labour Party’s director of communications even before he took elected office. Mandelson served in various ministerial roles in the governments of Labour Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, including Business Secretary and the organizational role of First Secretary of State that is often compared to the role of deputy prime minister, with neither of those positions permanently filled. He’s been no stranger to scandal or to resignation in the past, resigning from Tony Blair’s Cabinet in 1998 over an undisclosed loan for a home from a party ally with links to a media mogul. In 2001, he had to resign once more, this time over allegations of seeking to improperly influence a passport application. Mandelson had a stint in Brussels as European Commissioner for Trade from 2004 to 2008, in between roles in British governments. Most recently, he returned as Ambassador to the United States under the latest Labour prime minister, Keir Starmer. He was dismissed from this role late last year as his ties to Epstein began to come to light. Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, wrote on social media that the speed of Mandelson’s latest downfall raised questions about Starmer’s decision to bring him back into a prominent position as US ambassador last year.
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