Former British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson assured the UK government it would “never regret” appointing him, according to documents released on June 1.
More than 1,500 pages relating to the appointment of Mandelson, a friend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as envoy to Washington at the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term were released to comply with lawmakers’ demands for transparency.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer fired Mandelson after he had been in the role for just nine months. In March, Starmer said the appointment was a mistake but added he was not told that Mandelson had failed security vetting.
The prime minister is under pressure to resign from around a quarter of lawmakers within his Labour Party.
Among the documents is a November 2024 note from Mandelson to then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy, written just after Trump secured his second term in the White House and before the announcement of his appointment as ambassador.
‘Super Human Skills’
“I fear that navigating Britain’s interests through the Trump administration will require super-human skills and luck and a massive team effort,” Mandelson said in the November note. His appointment was announced the following month.
The first trove of files relating to the appointment, published in March, revealed that ministers had been warned that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein exposed the government to “reputational risk.”
Mandelson’s association with Epstein has been in the public domain since at least 2002. Starmer said he was not aware of the closeness of the friendship until the release of the latest tranche of the Epstein files by the U.S. Department of Justice.
When it was revealed that Mandelson was approved for the ambassador’s job despite failing security checks, it sparked resignations and sackings as blame was traded between Starmer and senior civil servants who oversaw the vetting process.
‘Acres’ of Redactions
Although the files released on June 1 shed some light on government discussions about the appointment, some documents have been redacted on national security grounds, while others have been withheld at the request of police investigating Mandelson for alleged misconduct in public office.
The summary of his vetting process is not among the documents released, although this does not form part of the police investigation.
In a House of Commons debate on June 1, just after the release of the documents, Conservative lawmaker Alex Burghart raised the issue of the missing and redacted files, saying the apparent lack of communication between Starmer and Mandelson “beggars belief.”
Burghart said: “We know that Peter Mandelson has refused to hand over his phone—it is in the document. We know that he was asked to give over his phone on 31 March. … He has declined to do so, and it is simply not acceptable that the government should allow this to pass without some sort of pushback.”
He later added, “There is then the matter of redactions. There are acres and acres of white space, a constellation of asterisks.”
Starmer’s Chief Secretary Darren Jones told lawmakers that the disclosure process alone had cost more than 1 million pounds (more than $1.35 million).
Jones said he understood there were questions about missing communications and redactions made on grounds other than national security, adding that his own messages with Mandelson were among those not published.
“Some messages may not have been backed up where devices may have been changed or disappearing messages turned on, for reasonable and permitted reasons, including before the dismissal of Peter Mandelson … my messages included,” he said.
Mandelson has been involved in numerous scandals over the years, and was twice forced out of government owing to financial irregularities. In 1998, he was forced out for failing to disclose a home loan from a senior minister. Shortly after his return, he was forced to resign owing to a passport scandal involving billionaire businessmen, the Hinduja brothers.
‘Reputational Risk’
The more than 100 pages of documents released in March suggested concerns were raised about the “reputational risks” of appointing Mandelson because of his friendship with Epstein, as well as his previous resignations from government and his support for closer ties with China.
None of the documents released so far reveal what measures, if any, were taken to mitigate the risk of giving Mandelson the job.
The government “has no further recourse to search the personal devices of Peter Mandelson,” after he refused to hand over his phone, the latest documents state.
The former ambassador, who quit British politics amid the growing scandal, was arrested in February by detectives investigating allegations he passed sensitive government information to Epstein when he was a British government minister in 2009.
He was released without charge or any bail conditions as the police investigation continues.
Starmer fired Mandelson in September 2025 after an earlier release of the Epstein files showed he sent supportive messages to Epstein after the his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Epstein was found dead in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
Starmer ‘Lacks Verve’
The documents released on June 1 include emails and text messages between Mandelson and government ministers and advisers, some discussing serious government matters, while others exchange gossip, including unflattering remarks about Starmer and other ministers
“Keir is not leading from the front,” Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said in a May 2025 WhatsApp exchange with Mandelson.
Mandelson’s verdict was “Keir lacks verve.” He said that the government needed to act, “dare I say it … in a more Trumpian risk taking and dare devil way.”
In July, he despaired that the government was “beleaguered and bereft,” and ministers don’t “really know what Keir thinks or wants.”
“In fact most of them don’t think Keir knows what he wants,” Mandelson said.
Trump has previously criticized Mandelson’s appointment. In an April 20 post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom acknowledged that he ‘exercised wrong judgement’ when he chose his Ambassador to Washington. I agree, he was a really bad pick. Plenty of time to recover, however!”
Starmer has previously apologized to the victims of Epstein for the appointment, saying that he was “sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies.”
Starmer faces a possible Labour leadership battle later this year, with party favorite Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham needing to win a parliamentary by-election on June 18 in order to mount a challenge.
A number of other lawmakers, including Starmer’s former health secretary Wes Streeting, have indicated that they are ready to stand in any leadership race.
In a June 1 post on X following the release of the Mandelson documents, Burnham said: “When I left Westminster 10 years ago, I did so in the belief that it needed fundamental culture change. I remain of that view and believe that change can’t come soon enough.”
Lawmakers will have more time to digest the files before a further House of Commons debate takes place on June 2, with Starmer expected to face further questions over the appointment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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