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Mandelson Files: Top Official Said Appointment “Weirdly Rushed”

Novara Media · Novara Media · · 12 min read
Commentary by Brian Edwards

<p>"</p> <p>## A Black Eye for British Politics</p> <p>The newly released Mandelson Files have exposed something remarkable: Prime Minister Kier Starmer was told about Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein before appointing him as Britain's ambassador to Washington. The files, released after a parliamentary vote, confirm that the vetting process was conducted by Matthew Doyle—a close friend of Mandelson who had campaigned for a candidate subsequently convicted of child sex offenses.</p> <p>## The Appointment Was "Weirdly Rushed"</p> <p>Jonathan Pal, Starmer's national security adviser and former chief of staff to Tony Blair, described the appointment process as "weirdly rushed." Pal recalled that Morgan Mcweeney, a senior political figure, pushed hard for Mandelson's appointment. Mcweeney had three specific questions prepared for Mandelson regarding Epstein—alongside discussions about Global Council, his lobbying firm that has since gone insolvent.</p> <p>Pal noted reservations from Philip Barton, another senior civil servant involved in the process. The most damning detail: Starmer must have known about Mandelson's relationship with Epstein given the JP Morgan report was publicly available before he made the appointment decision.</p> <p>## The Blair-Epstein Meeting</p> <p>The files also reveal how Jeffrey Epstein came to meet Tony Blair at Downing Street in 2002. A memorandum from Mandelson to Jonathan Pal shows Mandelson pushing for Blair to meet Epstein, describing him as "an active scientific catalyst entrepreneur" with "his finger on the pulse of many worldwide markets and currencies."</p> <p>The briefing note given to Blair before the meeting highlighted Epstein's wealth: roughly $200 million, a New York home, and a ranch in New Mexico. Mandelson arranged for Clinton to travel with Epstein, noting he was "safe"—a description that rings hollow today.</p> <p>This represents New Labour at its core: the worship of money merged with an obsession with celebrity, image, and glamour. The files confirm that Mandelson secured half an hour with the Prime Minister simply because Epstein was rich.</p> <blockquote>The background on Epstein is that he's very rich. He's worth about a couple hundred million dollars. This sums up New Labour.</blockquote> <p>## Counterpoints</p> <p>Critics might note that framing this as a scandal obscures the fact Mandelson was ultimately not appointed to the Washington post—the one major decision where Starmer has been proven correct. Additionally, some observers have pointed out that linking these appointments to broader critiques of New Labour's aesthetic may conflate multiple separate failures.</p> <p>## Bottom Line</p> <p>The strongest element of this argument is its documentation of institutional failure: the vetting was conducted by a man who had campaigned for someone convicted of child sex offenses, and the process was described as "weirdly rushed" by senior officials. The vulnerability lies in whether Starmer can now be held accountable—but with these files released strategically after Prime Minister's Questions, he faces difficult scrutiny. What emerges is a deeply troubling picture of how British political appointments were made during the New Labour era—and what standards were abandoned in pursuit of wealth and image.</p>

Transcript excerpt on Novara Media

The first set of files related to the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain's ambassador to Washington has been released. The files which are being made available after a vote in parliament show the official information Kier Starmmer had access to when appointing Mandel to the plum job. And on Mandles's relationship to Epstein, this is what Starmer was told all the way back in 2024. A relationship with Jeffrey Epste.

It's his memorandum style document and it effectively relays absolutely everything that was already in the public realm uh from his relationship to uh Prince Andrew to that very famous JP Morgan report uh which relayed you know some pretty damning um connections between Epstein and Mandlesson. So that's what Star was told at the time. It doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already know. Of course, the files also have the summaries of meetings from last year, which are a bit more interesting.

These are factf finding meetings hosted by one of Kama's advisers after emails were released from Bloomberg, showing how close Epstein and Mandlesson were. This is a meeting with Matthew Doyle, at that point, uh, the head of communications for 10 Downing Street, who's put in charge of vetting Mandel. Um, summary of call, Lord Mandlesson is a personal friend of Matthew Doyle who was vetting him. So while he doesn't recall specific instances, he would certainly have seen him at social events around December 2024.

Matthew Doyle said he would not have had a unilateral meeting with Lord Mandlesson to discuss the appointment. Matthew Doyle said he did however have a number of conversations with Morgan Mcween and Morgan Mcweeny rather that were oneto ones. Recalls a number of wider political meetings around the time some more formal than others. Matthew Dor recalls some back and forth with um MM Morgan Mweeny which results in three specific questions for Lord Maddlesson to answer in respect of Jeffrey Epstein possibly some discussion of global council as well that of course was his lobbying shop it's now gone insolvent um Matthew Do recalls there were interactions with Alicitarian Jonathan Pal that's the foreign policy supreo at 10 Downing Street with Star right now though not details Matthew Do believes Jonathan Pal was particularly cautious about the appointment.

Um, Matthew Do does not recall any unique correspondence or a specific letter from Lord Mandlesson to uh ...

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