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Mandelson
could face police inquiry over alleged leak to Epstein
Met
police assessing reports of alleged misconduct in public office after
government information apparently shared
Jessica
Elgot and Emine Sinmaz
Mon 2 Feb
2026 21.38 CET
Peter
Mandelson is facing a possible police investigation into his alleged leak of
market-sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein at the height of the financial
crisis.
New
disclosures from the Epstein files appear to show Mandelson sent a string of
emails to the late sex offender containing confidential information that the
government was receiving to deal with the global crash while he was business
secretary under Gordon Brown.
Keir
Starmer has ordered an investigation by the cabinet secretary and demanded
Mandelson resign from the House of Lords. Brown has also asked the cabinet
secretary to investigate the alleged leaks to Epstein.
MPs lined
up in parliament on Monday to express fury over Mandelson’s apparent
willingness to share British government papers with the disgraced US financier.
The SNP
and Reform UK have reported Mandelson to the police for misconduct in a public
office. Emily Thornberry, the Labour chair of the foreign affairs select
committee, also said she believed his actions should merit a criminal inquiry.
The
Metropolitan police confirmed it had received a number of reports relating to
alleged misconduct in a public office and was considering whether to launch a
criminal investigation.
Commander
Ella Marriott said: “The reports will all be reviewed to determine if they meet
the criminal threshold for investigation. As with any matter, if new and
relevant information is brought to our attention we will assess it, and
investigate as appropriate.”
In at
least one email forwarded to Epstein – sent from a redacted address – an email
address for “John Pond” was copied in, which the Guardian understands was the
code name used by advisers when forwarding to Brown’s secure email account.
Emails
forwarded to Epstein from the very top of the UK government include:
A
confidential UK government document outlining £20bn in asset sales.
Mandelson
claiming he was “trying hard” to change government policy on bankers’ bonuses.
An
imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.
A
suggestion that the JPMorgan boss “mildly threaten” the chancellor.
One
former adviser described the conduct as “treacherous” and said they hoped the
police would investigate. “You can imagine the sense of betrayal that those of
us who worked every hour of the day during that crisis are feeling,” they said.
The
emails are part of a vast cache of disclosures relating to Epstein released on
Friday by the US Department of Justice.
Earlier
this week, documents appeared to show the disgraced financier paid a total of
$75,000 into bank accounts of which Mandelson – then a Labour MP – was believed
to be a beneficiary. It is also alleged that Epstein sent Mandelson’s partner,
now his husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, £10,000 in September 2009 to fund an
osteopathy course and other expenses.
One
email, which had the subject line “Business issues”, was sent by Brown’s
special adviser Nick Butler on 13 June 2009 with significant detail about
policy measures the government was considering and suggesting the government
had £20bn in saleable assets.
Mandelson
forwarded the email to Epstein and said: “Interesting note that’s gone to the
PM.” Epstein responded to Mandelson, asking “what salable (sic) assets?” A
reply from a redacted email address said: “Land, property I guess.”
Four
months later, the government announced the plans for the asset sale, hoping to
raise £16bn, including surplus real estate.
Butler,
who penned the memo, said he was considering reporting the matter to the
police. “We – that is all the people included on this email and many others –
worked on the basis of trust, which allowed us to float ideas. I am disgusted
by the breach of trust, presumably intended to give Epstein the chance to make
money,” he told the Times.
Brown
said in a statement on Monday that he had asked the cabinet secretary Chris
Wormald in September to investigate the potential leaks of market-sensitive
information to Epstein during the global financial crisis but had been told
there was no evidence available until now.
The
former prime minister said it was “shocking new information that has come to
light” and said there was now a need for “a wider and more intensive enquiry to
take place into the wholly unacceptable disclosure of government papers and
information during the period when the country was battling the global
financial crisis”.
In
another email from 9 May 2010, Epstein asked Mandelson to confirm a €500bn
bailout – which the then business secretary said would be announced that
evening. The following day, Mandelson also appeared to give Epstein an early
tipoff about Gordon Brown’s resignation.
Starmer,
who has no direct power to strip Mandelson of his Lords title, is now likely to
face renewed questions over his judgment in appointing Mandelson as US
ambassador and his closeness to senior Labour figures, including his chief of
staff Morgan McSweeney and the health secretary, Wes Streeting. Mandelson only
resigned his membership of the Labour party on Sunday.
No 10
wrote to the Lords authorities on Monday and said that the upper chamber should
urgently modernise its disciplinary procedures to strip him of his peerage.
But a
Lords source said there was little guidance or work undertaken about how the
reforms of the disciplinary procedures should take place, despite it being
included in Labour’s manifesto.
Government
insiders hope the senior politician will choose to stand down from the Lords of
his own accord, but a No 10 source admitted they had received no assurances
from Mandelson that he would voluntarily resign.
In
another 2009 email, which has enraged his former colleagues, Mandelson said the
Treasury was “digging in” on potential new taxes on bankers’ bonuses. Two days
later, Epstein asked whether Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan should call the
chancellor, Alistair Darling. In the reply Mandelson said he should “mildly
threaten” the chancellor.
The BBC’s
economics editor, Faisal Islam, said he understood from conversations with the
late former chancellor the call had subsequently taken place between Darling
and Dimon – as well as other senior bankers – to lobby him on the new bonus
curbs.
The
former permanent secretary to the Treasury Nick Macpherson said there had been
suspicions about leaks during that period. “Alistair Darling and the official
Treasury were always aware that investment banks had an inside track to No 10.
But the brazen nature of that inside track is rather breathtaking,” he said.
The chief
secretary to the prime minister, Darren Jones, told the Commons on Monday that
“no government minister of any political party should have, nor ever should
behave in this way.”
He
suggested Mandelson had lied on his disclosures to government before his
appointment as US ambassador. “The key thing, though, is when someone lies in
their declaration of interests, there must be a consequence,” he said.
There is
no precedent for removing a specific person from the House of Lords and it
would require primary legislation. The last time that happened was during the
first world war, when it was applied to a group of peers who had sided with
Britain’s enemies.
No
timeframe has been given for the Cabinet Office review, and No 10 would not say
that it should be made public. The review could include examining documents in
the National Archives and speaking to Mandelson and other contemporaries in No
10 at the time he was in correspondence with Epstein.
A
government spokesperson said: “It is rightly for the police to determine
whether to investigate and the government stands ready to provide whatever
support and assistance the police need.”
The FCA
declined to comment. Mandelson has been asked for comment.
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