Lord Peter Mandelson, Britain’s ambassador to Washington, said more “very embarrassing” details will surface about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after the release of holiday photographs and a handwritten birthday tribute linking the Labour peer to the disgraced financier.
Mandelson, speaking on the podcast Harry Cole Saves the West, said he felt "very embarrassed" by the material and expressed regret for having been introduced to Epstein. He said he had seen a different side of Epstein "because I'm a gay man," adding that Epstein had not offered introductions to women in the way he reportedly had for others.
Democratic members of the US Congress released a 238-page photobook compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003 that included a ten-page handwritten greeting attributed to Mandelson. The pages incorporate photographs said to be holiday snaps from a visit to Epstein's Little St James island in the early 2000s and messages praising Epstein. The writings and images predate Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from an underage girl.
Mandelson acknowledged that he expected email exchanges and correspondence between himself and Epstein to surface and said he would “profoundly regret” continuing an association he now views as a mistake. He told the podcast he did not believe he was named in the wider Epstein files and emphasised his sympathy for those trafficked by Epstein.
The revelations have prompted renewed scrutiny of Mandelson’s position just days before a scheduled state visit to the UK by US President Donald Trump, during which Mandelson is expected to play a prominent diplomatic role and attend a state banquet at Windsor Castle. Critics and some victims’ advocates said the pictures and messages raised serious questions about his suitability as ambassador.
Several individuals who have said they were abused by Epstein or who represented victims called for Mandyson to be removed. Former Epstein accuser Sarah Ransome described the association as unacceptable and said Mandelson should not serve as ambassador. Spencer Kuvin, a lawyer for several Epstein victims, said the UK government should seek answers from US authorities and that Mandelson should be questioned. Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal said a written, poetic tribute was troubling given Epstein's offences.
The British government has so far stood by Mandelson. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said the prime minister had "full confidence" in his appointed ambassador. Health Secretary Wes Streeting told radio listeners that regret for meeting Epstein was understandable and warned against "guilt by association." Mandelson's office, the British embassy in Washington and the Foreign Office were approached for comment.
The photobook contains material attributed to numerous public figures; the release has also spurred claims and denials about other contributors. The White House called some elements of the disclosures "fake news," responding to reporting about documents that purported to include messages from US political figures.
Separately, media reports have said emails reportedly seen by The Telegraph indicate Mandelson sought Epstein's advice during the 2010 sale of a Royal Bank of Scotland energy trading arm to JPMorgan, months after Epstein had been released from prison. Those reports say Epstein introduced Mandelson to Jes Staley, then a senior JPMorgan banker later sanctioned in the City for his links to Epstein. Mandelson has previously said he regrets continuing contact with Epstein for too long and that he had been misled about the nature of Epstein's earlier criminal case.
Jeffrey Epstein, a financier, was convicted in Florida in 2008 of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution and later died in 2019 while facing federal sex-trafficking charges. Ghislaine Maxwell, a close associate of Epstein, was convicted in 2021 of recruiting and grooming girls for him and is serving a prison sentence. Lawsuits and testimonies from alleged victims have described Little St James as a location where trafficking and abuse occurred; Virginia Giuffre (formerly Roberts) has said she and other underage girls were abused there by Epstein and his associates, claims that several prominent figures have denied.
The newly publicised images and messages do not, according to reporting, suggest Mandelson knew of or participated in Epstein's crimes. The birthday greeting attributed to Mandelson was written five years before Epstein's 2008 conviction. At the time of the earliest photographs, around 2002, Mandelson was a Labour MP who had resigned from the Cabinet; he later served as EU trade commissioner and in other senior roles.
Mandelson, 71, has been a senior Labour figure for decades and was appointed ambassador to the United States by Prime Minister Starmer. He has said he accepts he continued an association for too long and called Epstein a "charismatic criminal liar" in hindsight. The public release of correspondence and images by US lawmakers and media outlets means further material may emerge, officials and commentators have warned, potentially prompting further questions about long-standing social and business ties between Epstein and prominent figures in politics and finance.