Fresh revelations tying Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network to senior figures of Britain’s ruling elite—former Labour Party minister/key adviser Lord Peter Mandelson and the former Prince Andrew—have embroiled Keir Starmer’s Labour government.

Epstein, who died in suspicious circumstances in a prison cell in 2019, operated for decades as a highly connected middleman for the rich and powerful. He trafficked underage girls to a clientele of billionaires, politicians, diplomats and intelligence operatives.

The latest tranche of files released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) had Mandelson named in almost 6,000 of them. He was forced to resign from the ruling Labour Party and step down from the House of Lords.

Mandelson walked when it was revealed that he had passed confidential UK government information to Epstein. Downing Street has been forced to pass information to the Metropolitan Police to investigate. On Tuesday evening a Met commander, Ella Marriott, stated that the force had received “a number” of complaints, including from the government, of “alleged misconduct in public office”.

A previous batch of released documents forced the prime minister to sack Mandelson last September, less than a year after appointing him US ambassador in December 2024. In those, Mandelson urged Epstein to “fight for early release” shortly before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

The day before Epstein began his June 2008 sentence, Mandelson wrote, “I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened.” He urged Epstein to be “incredibly resilient,” adding, “Your friends stay with you and love you.”

Despite being warned by the intelligence services of Epstein’s extensive connections to Mandelson, Starmer still went ahead and appointed this venal right-winger—associated more than anyone else with Tony Blair’s New Labour project and its political crimes. He notoriously said that Blair’s government was “intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich.”

Among the latest revelations are that Mandelson gave Epstein advance notice of an imminent €500 billion European Union (EU) bailout of the Eurozone in 2010.

Mandelson was Business Secretary and the de facto deputy prime minister in 2009 and 2010 in Gordon Brown’s government. In this capacity he sent Epstein a secret Downing Street memo laying out plans for a £20 billion asset sale and tax change—which government advisers were preparing to shore up support from business.

The emails also make clear that Mandelson was constantly plotting to undermine Brown and force his removal—an operation backed by Epstein. Mandelson declares of Brown in one email to Epstein that he “needs to be confined asap to a sanatorium”, and in another that Brown needs “5 years of therapy.”

The emails show how the billionaire oligarchy buy their way to ensuring government policy serves them. Epstein wanted Brown replaced by someone on Labour’s openly Blairite wing, who did not fully back him after he took over from Blair in 2007.

After Mandelson returned to government, following the latest of several financial scandals in October 2008, Epstein congratulated him on “one of the greatest poliical (sic) revival opportunitis (sic) of all time”. He added, “Laws need to be changed. It will take time, Gordon thinks like an old man. Old solutions will not work.”

Epstein favoured Mandelson governing on a joint ticket with David Miliband, writing, “You will be the architect of LABOR 2.O.”

On February 6, 2010, Mandelson bragged, “If I continue as now people will say I am one of the few (only) big figures. And I have to deliver a reasonable [leadership] campaign that only he [Brown] [expletive]’s up.”

On May 10, 2010, the day before Brown resigned, Mandelson crowed to Epstein, “Finally got him to go today…”

One of the documents uncovered by the Financial Times reveals that Mandelson told Epstein in a December 2009 exchange how he could assist in watering down a tax on bank bonuses announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling.

Under the measures, bonuses over £25,000 in the finance industry were to be liable for extra 50 percent tax rate. Epstein asked, “[A]ny real chance of making the tax only on the cash portion of the bankers bonus?” Mandelson responded, “Treasury digging in but I am on [the] case.”

In another email Epstein asked Mandelson whether he should ask J.P. Morgan boss Jamie Dimon to phone Darling over the issue. Mandelson replied, “Yes and mildly threaten.”

This week Brown revealed he had written to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley with “relevant” information concerning Mandelson’s correspondence with Epstein.

Mandelson received $75,000 from Epstein in 2003 and 2004. While claiming he has no recollection of receiving the money, Mandelson has admitted Epstein made smaller payments to his husband.

In the latest trove of documents, another photo was published of Mandelson, this time in Epstein’s luxury Paris apartment where Mandelson is pictured in his underpants with an unknown woman. Images of Epstein and Mandelson go back as far as 2002–2003. Previous exposures uncovered a “birthday book” compiled by Ghislaine Maxwel (Epstein’s long-time associate and partner in crime) for his 50th birthday in 2003, where Mandelson described Epstein as his “best pal”.

Far from Mandelson’s claims now that he regrets ever spending time with Epstein, he continued to consort and encourage the convicted criminal after he served 13 months of the 18 month prison sentence. One email shows Mandelson asking Epstein (on the day he was released from prison), “how is freedom feeling”, to which Epstein replied: “She feels fresh, firm and creamy.”

Mandelson responded: “Naughty boy.” He asked, “How shall we celebrate?” to which Epstein responded, “With grace and modesty (those are the names of two strippers)”.

On Wednesday, Starmer’s crisis deepened when Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch invoked the parliamentary mechanism known as a “humble address.” She demanded the publication of all electronic communications between Mandelson and Starmer’s Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney, as well as between ministers and Mandelson, covering the six months prior to his appointment and the period “during his time as ambassador.”

Feeling too weakened—with his own and Labour’s poll numbers tanking—to allow the request to be put to a vote, Starmer put an amendment stating that the government would release as much as possible with regard for “national security or international relations”.

However, this compromise faced a rebellion by backbench Labour MPs, including an intervention from the floor by Starmer’s former deputy Angela Rayner, who last year was forced to step down in a tax sleaze scandal. The prime minister had to make further concessions, agreeing that any documents deemed a national security risk should be referred to the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) in Parliament—calculating that the body will restrict the documents and allow Starmer to limp on in office.

Starmer is also contending with the horrific stench of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s sordid connections with Epstein; he has already lost his royal title due to the scandal and been forced by his brother, King Charles, to vacate his Royal Lodge mansion in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

The latest DoJ release includes several photos taken in Epstein’s New York City mansion of the former prince on all fours, bent over a young woman or girl. Mountbatten-Windsor was still asking Epstein for advice until at least 2017, seven years after the royal claimed to have cut off contact with the convicted paedophile.