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Cliff Buddle

Veteran British politician Peter Mandelson’s visit to Hong Kong in 2024 came as a new era dawned, both for relations between the UK and China and his own career.
Speaking at the University of Hong Kong in September that year, soon after the Labour Party’s election victory, the former trade minister expressed optimism that the new government would engage with Beijing and forge closer ties. He spoke highly of Hong Kong.
Mandelson played down suggestions he would soon be appointed Britain’s ambassador to the US, joking that he had learned of such speculation in the newspapers.
But the rumour mill was spot on. The Labour Party elder statesman was given the prestigious job three months later, seen as someone whose trade experience, expertise and contacts would be invaluable when dealing with incoming US President Donald Trump.
Few who attended the Hong Kong forum, “A new beginning in British foreign policy and its implications”, would have imagined the guest speaker would become engulfed in a scandal that now threatens to cost British Prime Minister Keir Starmer his job.
Mandelson, 72, was sacked as ambassador in September amid a growing furore over his relationship with convicted child sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in jail in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.
Leaked emails had revealed that the friendship between the two men, which spanned more than a decade, was closer than had previously been known. But this was just the beginning.
The release of more than 3 million pages of Epstein file documents by the US Justice Department in January took concerns about the relationship to a new level. Among them were emails which appear to show Mandelson forwarding confidential government information to Epstein when a minister in 2008. They also suggest payments were made by the sex offender to accounts linked to the politician and his husband.
He was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the same allegation that led to the apprehension of the former Prince Andrew, another of Epstein’s associates, now known as Mountbatten-Windsor. A photo of the three of them together, contained in the US files, emerged on Friday.
Mandelson is not accused of sexual misconduct. He denies any wrongdoing and says he was unaware of Epstein’s abuses. He has described the paedophile as an “evil monster”. The police investigation continues and Mandelson’s arrest does not necessarily mean he will be charged.
But the political fallout has left Starmer facing the biggest crisis of his tenure. He has been accused by lawmakers in his own party of making a “catastrophic error of judgment” by appointing Mandelson when his links to Epstein were well known. Starmer’s chief of staff, cabinet secretary and director of communications have all departed in the wake of the affair.
Now, there are renewed calls for the prime minister to resign. This follows the release last week, in response to a call from parliament, of an initial 31 pages of documents relating to the vetting of Mandelson for the ambassador role. Those documents reveal that Starmer was warned about the risks arising from Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein. The due diligence report, prepared in December, 2024, makes interesting reading.
It appears to include a reference to the remarks he made at the University of Hong Kong. This, of course, has nothing to do with the Epstein ties. The passage was highlighted under the heading “seen as an advocate for closer UK-China relations”. That, it appears, was viewed as a potential concern.
“Mandelson gave a speech at the University of Hong Kong where he claimed that the rule of law and independence of the judiciary remain intact there,” the vetting report said, adding that the politician had argued there should be a thaw in relations.
But it is the warnings sounded in the document about Mandelson’s links with Epstein that have deepened the scandal. There is reference to a 2019 JP Morgan report that found that Epstein appeared to “maintain a particularly close relationship” with both Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Mandelson. Crucially, the due diligence report states that the politician’s relationship with Epstein continued after the financier was convicted of procuring an underage girl in 2008. Mandelson, it says, reportedly stayed at Epstein’s home while he was in jail. The report revealed ties continued until at least 2014.
Starmer was warned repeatedly of the risks that would arise from the appointment. A memo to him stated: “If anything goes wrong, you could be more exposed as the individual is more connected to you personally.”
The prime minister has accused Mandelson of lying about the extent of his relationship with Epstein, saying he barely knew the sex offender, a claim the former ambassador denies.
Starmer said last week that follow-up questions were put to Mandelson, but “unfortunately” details could not yet be released because they might prejudice the police investigation. “But that doesn’t take away from the fact that it was me that made a mistake, and it’s me that makes the apology to the victims of Epstein, and I do that,” he added.
Further material is due to be released in coming weeks, including WhatsApp messages between Mandelson and ministers. Many questions remain unanswered amid allegations of a government cover-up.
Starmer was already under pressure after his party lost one of its safest seats to the Green Party last month, finishing third with only 25.4 per cent of the vote. His popularity ratings are very low amid concerns over the cost of living, immigration and a series of policy U-turns. The scandal could be the tipping point.
The release of the Epstein files in the US came just a day after Starmer met President Xi Jinping in Beijing and the establishment of closer, warmer ties between the two countries was declared. Mandelson, with his strong support for engagement and dialogue, has resigned from the Labour Party and stepped down from the House of Lords. China has lost a British politician who was prepared to work for a better relationship. If Starmer, as many expect, has to depart in the summer, it will lose a leader willing to do business with it too.
The Mandelson issue might be a sideshow to the appalling Epstein affair as it continues to play out. But it is one that could have far-reaching consequences. What matters most, whether with Mandelson’s appointment or the much broader Epstein scandal generally, is that the truth is unearthed and the victims receive justice.


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Hong Kong

Mandelson scandal could be the tipping point that costs Starmer his job

Former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson sits in a vehicle in London on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters


Opinion

Episode has cost China not only a British politician prepared to work for better ties but also potentially a prime minister willing to do business with it


Episode has cost China not only a British politician prepared to work for better ties but also potentially a prime minister willing to do business with it.


United States

Britain

China

Peter Mandelson

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

Jeffrey Epstein

JP Morgan Asset Management

US Department of Justice

My Take

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Mandelson scandal could be the tipping point that costs Starmer his job

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Episode has cost China not only a British politician prepared to work for better ties but also potentially a prime minister willing to do business with it

Episode has cost China not only a British politician prepared to work for better ties but also potentially a prime minister willing to do business with it