Downing Street ignored warnings about Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein when it appointed him ambassador to Washington earlier this year, according to a memo reported by the Daily Mail.
The memo, written by Labour peer Maurice Glasman and sent in the hours after the US presidential inauguration in January, urged Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney to withdraw Mandelson’s name, calling him “the wrong man at the wrong time in the wrong place.” Glasman wrote that several Republican contacts had shown him a photograph of Mandelson with Epstein and warned the appointment risked “provoking” senior Republicans who already had reservations about the Labour government.
Downing Street said the appointment followed established vetting procedures. A No 10 spokesperson said Mandelson had been subject “to extensive vetting and background checks” to ensure he did not pose a security risk and that “due process” had been followed. The government made the appointment in February, less than three weeks after Glasman’s warning.
Sir Keir Starmer defended the decision in the House of Commons, saying Epstein’s victims “are at the forefront of our minds” and that the ambassador had “repeatedly expressed his deep regret for his association with Epstein.” Opposition MPs from both the Conservatives and some Labour backbenchers pressed for Mandelson’s removal ahead of a planned state visit by US President Donald Trump.
A Whitehall source quoted by the Daily Mail said some senior figures in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office had advised against the appointment because of Mandelson’s past controversies. Mandelson, a former cabinet minister who twice resigned from the cabinet during his political career, has faced scrutiny for earlier episodes that fuelled public controversy.
Glasman’s memo, seen by the Daily Mail, made broader claims about overseas perceptions of the Labour government, writing that “the vast majority of people I met… consider our Labour Government to be a front organisation for paedophiles and Pakistani rape gangs.” The memo urged McSweeney to reconsider, saying that the government’s position on issues such as the Chagos Islands and migration had compounded the problem. The Daily Mail report said Glasman was the only Labour figure invited to the US inauguration on January 20 and that McSweeney had asked him to write reflections on the new US administration.
The report also referenced a separate matter reported by The Times: a purported 2002 memo in which Mandelson allegedly advised then-prime minister Tony Blair that meeting Epstein would be “safe” and useful because of Epstein’s business contacts. The Times, according to the Daily Mail account, said the document and a civil service summary were due to be released by the National Archives but that an exemption was applied on the grounds that disclosure could harm UK international relations.
Mandelson’s association with Epstein has resurfaced repeatedly in recent months. The Daily Mail published a photograph it said showed Mandelson and Epstein together in January 2007, and reported that Mandelson once described Epstein as “my best pal.” Mandelson has previously said he regrets his association with Epstein.
Labour officials said the appointment process included checks intended to establish whether an individual posed a security risk, and that ministers were briefed on the findings. Downing Street would not disclose the details of the vetting on grounds of security and confidentiality.
The controversy has prompted questions about ministerial appointments and the balance between political considerations and diplomatic sensitivity. With a high-profile state visit on the calendar, critics argued the timing of the appointment risked distracting from the government’s agenda and complicating relations with US lawmakers who view Epstein-related associations as politically toxic.
The Foreign Office and Downing Street declined further comment beyond reiterating that standard procedures had been observed. Maurice Glasman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Times and the Daily Mail reported the documents and claims; no independent official release of the Glasman memo or the 2002 note has been made public by the National Archives or other government bodies.