Britain’s beleaguered prime minister, Keir Starmer, was braced for fresh embarrassment on Monday with the expected release of hundreds of documents relating to Peter Mandelson, the former ambassador who was fired over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr. Mandelson lost his job as Britain’s top envoy to the United States last year after leaked emails showed the depth and extent of his friendship with Mr. Epstein, the convicted sex offender, kindling a political crisis in Britain.
In March, a preliminary release of documents, demanded by opposition lawmakers, showed that British vetting officials had recommended against granting top-level security clearances to Mr. Mandelson before he was appointed. But that recommendation was overruled by the Foreign Office.
Mr. Starmer has said that he was lied to by Mr. Mandelson over the extent of his ties to Mr. Epstein. Mr. Starmer has also said that he was not told about the security clearance recommendation.
The furor over Mr. Mandelson’s appointment prompted the firing of the former top official at the Foreign Office, Olly Robbins, in April, and helped to destabilize Mr. Starmer’s position as prime minister and as leader of the governing Labour Party.
Mr. Starmer’s political fortunes worsened last month after poor local election results and the resignation of a senior cabinet minister, Wes Streeting. That prompted speculation that the prime minister could face a leadership challenge later this year. One of the main contenders, Andy Burnham, currently the mayor of Greater Manchester in northwestern England, is running in a special election to return to Parliament. If Mr. Burnham wins that election, it would make him eligible to be a candidate in any Labour leadership contest.
The batch of documents to be released on Monday is expected to include those relating to the time that Mr. Mandelson spent as ambassador in Washington, including emails and WhatsApp messages that he exchanged with senior members of the British government. He took up the diplomatic post on February 2025 and was fired in September.
Mr. Mandelson is under criminal investigation on allegations of misconduct in public office after allegations that he passed confidential government information to Mr. Epstein while serving in a previous Labour government, in 2009 and 2010. Mr. Mandelson has denied criminal wrongdoing, and he is cooperating with the police. He was arrested and released on bail in February this year and has not been charged.
Under pressure from opposition lawmakers, the government has promised that all relevant documents will be published, apart from those that the police have asked to be held back while they conduct their investigation.
Some documents are expected to be redacted on national security or international relations grounds, or to remove the names of junior officials.
Stephen Castle is a London correspondent of The Times, writing widely about Britain, its politics and the country’s relationship with Europe.
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