BELEAGUERED Labour peer Peter Mandelson has claimed that “none” of the Epstein files indicate he engaged in any “wrongdoing or misdemeanour” despite a police probe.
Mandelson – who was appointed US ambassador by Keir Starmer’s Labour Government in 2024 but was fired in 2025 over his links to the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – has come under fresh scrutiny after more than three million files were published by the US Department of Justice on Friday.
READ MORE: 18 key details we learned from the new Epstein files release
Among the documents were damning revelations about Mandelson’s links to the billionaire, which continued even after he was convicted for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14. The Labour peer had sent Epstein inside information about Gordon Brown resigning as prime minister, about a deal to bail out the Euro, about secret UK government plans to sell off assets, and also appeared to say he would lobby ministers about a tax on bankers’ bonuses.
Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick told the Commons on Monday that Mandelson had “clearly broken the law” and said he should be “tried for his offences”. The SNP called the police in, while senior Labour MPs including Emily Thornberry and Justin Madders called for an investigation into potential misconduct in public office.
However, in an interview with The Times, Mandelson has insisted that the Epstein files do not show he has committed any wrongdoing.
The Labour peer – who is facing calls to quit the Lords – said: “If it hadn’t been for the emails, I’d still be in Washington. Emails sent all those years ago didn’t change the relationship that I had with this monster [Epstein].
“I feel the same about the recent download of Epstein files, none of which indicate wrongdoing or misdemeanour on my part.”
Asked if he would give evidence to US Congress about his relationship with Epstein, as former US president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton have agreed to do, Mandelson suggested he would not.
“There is nothing I can tell Congress about Epstein they don’t already know,” he told The Times. “I had no exposure to the criminal aspects of his life. For so many years the voices of his victims were not heard and now Congress has rightly opened everything up.”
READ MORE: Jeffrey Epstein discussed how to profit from Scottish independence vote, files show
On Monday, Downing Street said Prime Minister Starmer supported removing Mandelson from the Lords, but said it did not have the power to do so. The Commons was told that Mandelson had lied when going through the vetting process to become US ambassador.
However, he told The Times: “Downing Street did not know what I had long since forgotten. It was a distant chapter from which I have very little recall and have no access at all to records or a diary.
“I understand being surprised by what they learnt, but quite honestly I too am amazed by some of the conversations I had and areas of my life where I was seeking advice from Epstein.”
Last September, Starmer was humiliated after defending Mandelson at Prime Minister’s Questions, before having to fire him less than 24 hours later.
Mandelson told The Times: “The U-turns are becoming a really bad look, and if the Prime Minister picks a fight or shows leadership on something, he has to follow through and win the argument.”
Asked if he had a lapse in judgment because he was dazzled by Epstein’s wealth, Mandelson suggested that rich people are more interesting.
“I don’t think I am drawn towards rich people so much as rich people have big personalities, a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience to share,” he said. “I hoover that up, but not because they’re wealthy. It’s because of what they do and what they’ve learnt and the responsibilities they’ve exercised, not the size of their bank accounts.”
The Metropolitan Police said on Monday they had received “a number of reports relating to alleged misconduct in a public office” after the files were released and that they would be reviewed to determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation.
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