Government officials blocked the release of a secret memo in which Lord Peter Mandelson reportedly urged then‑prime minister Tony Blair to meet financier Jeffrey Epstein, The Times reported.
The note, believed to have been written in May 2002 when Mandelson was a Labour backbencher, is said to have advised that a meeting with Epstein would be "safe" and potentially useful because of his business contacts. The memo and an accompanying civil service summary were due to be published this summer under the National Archives' 20‑year rule but were withdrawn at the last minute after an exemption was applied on the grounds that disclosure could harm Britain’s international relations, in particular with the United States.
According to the report, aides showed the message to Blair and passed it to the prime minister, but it is not known whether any meeting between Blair and Epstein took place. Officials cited the potential diplomatic consequences of releasing the documents as the reason for keeping them closed.
The revelation has renewed scrutiny of Mandelson's past ties to Epstein. Mandelson, who is Britain's ambassador to Washington, has previously said he regrets the relationship, described a previously published message from him in Epstein’s 2003 "birthday book" calling Epstein his "best pal" and praising his "glorious homes" as "embarrassing," and has denied any business dealings with the financier. He has also said he was deceived and that the relationship went on "too long."
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer defended Mandelson's appointment to the ambassadorial role in Parliament, saying he retained "full confidence" in him and that Mandelson was "playing an important role" in the UK‑US relationship. Starmer declined to commit to publishing all of Mandelson's correspondence with Epstein, saying such material is subject to an independent process.
The controversy follows the recent U.S. publication of Epstein materials that have drawn attention to the politician and public figures who had contact with Epstein. Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution, and in 2019 he was found dead in a U.S. jail while awaiting trial on federal sex‑trafficking charges.
Officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the withheld memo and the grounds cited for the exemption. The National Archives operates a routine 20‑year review of government records before public release; exemptions can be applied where disclosure is judged to pose risks to national security or international relations.
The withholding of the memo is likely to intensify calls from some MPs and campaigners for greater transparency about senior politicians' contacts with Epstein and for the full release of correspondence or other records that touch on the relationship. Any further decisions on release will be governed by established archival and legal processes, and may prompt questions about how exemptions are applied to material of public interest involving high‑profile figures.
The report adds to a broader reassessment of public and private dealings with Epstein, whose networks and activities have continued to surface in legal filings and media reports since his 2019 death.