Peter Mandelson initially demanded more than half a million pounds in severance pay after being sacked as US ambassador.
The first release of the “Mandelson files” – government documents and correspondence relating to the disgraced counterpart’s appointment as US ambassador and subsequent tenure – was released today, after MPs voted last month to compel disclosure.
They reveal that Mandelson’s ties to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein were flagged during the nomination process, including a report that Mandelson stayed at Epstein’s Manhattan property following his conviction for soliciting prostitution of a minor.
However, most of the files relate to negotiations after Mandelson’s appointment ended. They reveal that he received a payment of £75,000. According to an email, “He opened negotiations by asking us to pay his contract (over £500,000). Mark (Power, chief people officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) did well to get this deal down so low with minimal fuss.”
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Other emails reveal the Foreign Office’s assessment that a substantial payment is justified given that “the individual has a high profile that could cause damage to the reputation of FCDO and HMG if a court or tribunal claim were to be pursued”.
Mandelson himself hints at the potential of such a claim, writing on 17 September 2025 about his “employment rights”, including the line: “This will be better understood by lawyers than I”. A week later (September 24, 2025) there is a record of a phone call with Mandelson. It said Mandelson “has sought advice, during the conversation he indicated this was from the Senior Counsel (a CC) specializing in employment law. His argument focuses heavily on the reasonableness of the Prime Minister’s decision. There is some carefully placed language about the public implications of not reaching a settlement and the nature of an employment tribunal case.” From this note it can be assumed that Mandelson threatened to go to court for his dismissal, knowing the reputational damage this could cause the government.
At the time of these emails and documents, the full extent of Mandelson’s long friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, including his alleged passing on of confidential government documents when he was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s cabinet and the lobbying he carried out on behalf of the financier, was not publicly known. Mandelson himself, however, would surely have been aware of what might yet emerge during his settlement negotiations.
(Further reading: John Healey: “The mistakes of Iraq will not be repeated”)
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