SNP reports Peter Mandelson to police over Epstein revelations
The SNP Westminster leader said the force must investigate whether there is sufficient evidence of criminality in his actions while serving in Gordon Brown’s Cabinet.
Stephen Flynn has reported Lord Peter Mandelson to the police after revelations over him leaking sensitive information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The SNP Westminster leader said the force must investigate whether there is sufficient evidence of criminality in his actions while serving in Gordon Brown’s Cabinet.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has urged Lord Mandelson to quit the House of Lords, but said he does not have the power to strip him of a peerage.
The country’s top civil servant has also been asked to carry out a review after documents apparently showed Lord Mandelson passing information to Epstein.
Downing Street said Sir Keir had asked Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald to conduct “an urgent review” looking at “all available information regarding Mandelson’s contacts with Epstein during his period as a government minister”.
Former prime minister Mr Brown said he had asked Sir Chris to investigate the disclosure of “confidential and market sensitive information” during the global financial crisis.
Documents released by the US Department of Justice indicate Epstein was sent internal discussions from the heart of the UK government after the global financial crisis.
Lord Mandelson, then the business secretary, also appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby ministers over a tax on bankers’ bonuses in 2009, and to confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.
Mr Flynn said the Metropolitan Police should look into the peer’s actions.
The Aberdeen South MP said: "The disgraceful revelations about Lord Peter Mandelson's relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and his actions as a UK Labour government minister, are shocking and must be fully investigated by the UK government and all appropriate authorities.
"There is no question that Lord Mandelson's actions were shameful and unethical - the only question is the extent to which his actions breached the ministerial code and the law.
"I have, therefore, reported Peter Mandelson to the Metropolitan Police.
"Given the seriousness of the allegations against Lord Mandelson, it is essential these matters are fully investigated to ensure maximum transparency and justice. There is a clear public interest in ensuring UK government ministers are not engaged in illegal or unethical activity.
"People will long remember that Keir Starmer dragged his heels and refused to remove the Labour Party whip from Lord Mandelson. The fact that the Prime Minister is still making excuses for his inaction, and refusing to strip Peter Mandelson of his peerage, will not wash with voters."
Lord Mandelson was given a peerage and joined Gordon Brown’s Government as business secretary in October 2008.
Having been a close ally of Sir Tony Blair, he had previously served in two Cabinet roles - having been sacked from both due to scandal.
Former prime minister Mr Brown said on Monday: “I have today asked the Cabinet Secretary to investigate the disclosure of confidential and market sensitive information from the then Business Department during the global financial crisis.
“On September 10 last year, I wrote to the Cabinet Secretary to ask him to investigate the veracity of information contained in the Epstein papers about the sale of assets arising from the banking collapse and communications about them between Lord Mandelson and Mr Epstein.
“That enquiry led to a response on November 19 that no departmental record could be found of any information or communication from Lord Mandelson to Mr Epstein on these issues.
“Given the shocking new information that has come to light in the latest tranche of Epstein papers, including information about the transfer to Mr Epstein of at least one highly sensitive government document as well as other highly confidential information, I have now written to ask 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.
“Given the public interest in this, I have asked that the results of the enquiry be published and done so as soon as possible.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Sir Keir “believes that Peter Mandelson should not be a member of the House of Lords or use the title”.
“However, the Prime Minister does not have the power to remove it,” the spokesman added.
Lord Mandelson, who is on a leave of absence from the upper chamber, could resign voluntarily.
Under current arrangements, a new law would be required to remove a peerage, something that last happened more than 100 years ago to deal with members of the nobility who sided with the Germans in the First World War.
There is no precedent for using a new law to remove a specific person from the Lords.
Sir Keir urged the Lords to work with the Government to modernise disciplinary procedures to make it easier to remove disgraced peers.
While he was business secretary, email exchanges from December 2009 suggest Lord Mandelson was lobbying to change a tax on bankers’ bonuses, with encouragement from Mr Epstein.
The emails came at the time the so-called “super tax” was being introduced by then-chancellor Alistair Darling to clamp down on bank profits being used to pay large bonuses for bankers after the financial crisis.
An email dated December 15 2009, which appears to be from Epstein, reads: “Any real chance of making the tax only on the cash portion of the bankers bonus.”
The reply, apparently from Lord Mandelson, said he was “trying hard to amend”, adding: “Treasury digging in but I am on case.”
Two days later, an email discussion indicates Lord Mandelson encouraged JP Morgan’s boss Jamie Dimon to call Mr Darling and “mildly threaten” him.
Emails show internal discussions from the heart of the Brown administration were passed to Epstein in 2009.
One was an analysis of business lending in August 2009 drawn up by government minister Baroness Vadera.
The sender of the message to Epstein has been redacted, but Lord Mandelson was involved in the government email thread.
In an earlier email, the peer wrote to Epstein in June 2009 about an “interesting note that’s gone to the PM”, forwarding an assessment by Mr Brown’s adviser Nick Butler of potential policy measures including an “asset sales plan”.
Epstein responded by asking “what salable assets”, with a reply from a redacted email address saying “land, property I guess”.
On May 9 2010, in the last days of Mr Brown’s government, Epstein emailed Lord Mandelson saying: “Sources tell me 500 b euro bailout, almost complete.”
The reply, from a redacted address or number, said “sd be announced tonight”. A massive rescue package was agreed by Brussels in the early hours of May 10.
Bank statements from 2003 and 2004 appeared to show Lord Mandelson received payments totalling 75,000 US dollars (£54,000) from the financier.
Epstein is also said to have paid for an osteopathy course for Lord Mandelson’s husband in 2009.
On Sunday night, Lord Mandelson resigned his Labour membership and the party revealed he was facing a disciplinary process.
Lord Mandelson was sacked as the ambassador to the US last year after details emerged of his continued contact with the financier after Epstein’s guilty plea in 2008 to soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is also facing calls to disclose all his private communications with Lord Mandelson after he said it was right that the former minister had quit the party.
SNP Depute Leader at Westminster Pete Wishart told Mr Sarwar: “There is no need to wait for the investigation given your deep and sustained friendship with Lord Peter Mandelson.
“It is in interests of the Scottish public and for the integrity of Scottish public office that you disclose all correspondence shared between yourself and Lord Peter Mandelson, including all emails and private messages.”
The SNP MP said this should include a “full minute” of a meeting in April 2025, following which Mr Sarwar was said to have described Lord Mandelson as an “old friend”.
Mr Wishart also demanded information he said Lord Mandelson had given to the Scottish Labour leader in October 2024 should be made public.
The SNP MP told Mr Sarwar: “While Lord Peter Mandelson may be your ‘old friend’, you should not act to protect either him, yourself or the Labour Party any longer.
“It is time to come clean and disclose every last detail of communication to the public.”
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