Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain was warned that making Peter Mandelson his ambassador to the United States carried “general reputational risk” because of Mr. Mandelson’s ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to documents released on Wednesday by the British government.
The prime minister made the appointment anyway, announcing that he was “delighted” with his decision and that Mr. Mandelson would “bring unrivaled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength.”
That announcement came despite expressions of caution from some of his aides. In a due diligence checklist provided to Mr. Starmer by his vetting team on Dec. 11, 2024, officials highlighted details that were publicly known about the close relationship between Mr. Mandelson and Mr. Epstein.
“After Epstein was first convicted of procuring an underage girl in 2008, their relationship continued across 2009-2011, beginning when Lord Mandelson was Business Minister and continuing after the end of the Labour government,” the document, titled “ADVICE TO THE PRIME MINISTER,” said. “Mandelson reportedly stayed in Epstein’s House while he was in jail in June 2009.”
Questions about Mr. Starmer’s judgment in choosing Mr. Mandelson, a longtime Labour Party operative, for the plum diplomatic post delivered a blow to the prime minister’s standing last month. Mr. Starmer was already struggling with dismal approval ratings because of a sluggish economy and concerns about his flip-flops on critical parts of his policy agenda.
Mr. Mandelson has not been accused of any sexual misconduct. But documents released by the U.S. Justice Department as part of the Epstein files showed he had a far closer friendship with Mr. Epstein than was publicly known. The emails also suggested that he shared confidential government information with Mr. Epstein when he served in government in the 2000s.
Mr. Starmer’s opponents are likely to seize on the latest revelations as evidence that he should step aside before a general election that must take place by August 2029. But even as he received warnings about Mr. Mandelson at the end of 2024, Mr. Starmer was also being urged to appoint him by some of his most trusted aides, including Morgan McSweeney, his then chief of staff and a political protégé of Mr. Mandelson.
Mr. Mandelson was seen at the time by some inside Mr. Starmer’s government as a tough and shrewd political operative who could be effective at courting President Trump and deflecting his aggressive style on trade, defense and other issues.
The documents released on Wednesday suggest that Mr. McSweeney was dismissive of the concerns from other government officials about Mr. Mandelson’s ties to Mr. Epstein.
Jonathan Powell, Mr. Starmer’s national security adviser, told the government’s top lawyer that the appointment of Mr. Mandelson as ambassador had seemed “weirdly rushed,” according to notes of a meeting that took place after Mr. Mandelson was removed as ambassador. Mr. Powell said that he had raised concerns about Mr. Mandelson with Mr. McSweeney before the appointment.
“MM responded that the issues had been addressed,” the document notes, using Mr. McSweeney’s initials.
Mr. Starmer fired Mr. Mandelson last September after the publication of emails and other correspondence revealed more details about the depth and duration of his relationship with Mr. Epstein.
The British police arrested and then released Mr. Mandelson last month over accusations that he had passed on confidential government information. Mr. Mandelson remains under investigation but he has not been charged with a crime and has denied any criminal wrongdoing.
Shortly after the Justice Department released a new wave of Epstein files in January, lawmakers demanded to know how much the prime minister knew about the friendship between Mr. Mandelson and Mr. Epstein when he made the appointment. Mr. Starmer agreed last month to release the documents under pressure from political opponents and members of his own Labour Party.
Mr. Starmer has said the former ambassador repeatedly lied to him and his aides about the extent of his friendship with Mr. Epstein, saying in a speech last month that “none of us knew the depth of, the darkness of that relationship.”
Aides had promised that some of the vetting documents would show that Mr. Mandelson had lied. However, they were not among the files released on Wednesday. The Metropolitan Police had asked for some documents to be held back to avoid jeopardizing their ongoing investigation.
The absence of those documents left many questions about Mr. Mandelson’s appointment unanswered and will make it harder for Mr. Starmer’s critics to come to a final conclusion on whether he was misled.
The government said on Wednesday that it had ordered an overhaul of standards and would strengthen vetting procedures to boost ethics in political and public life.
“The prime minister has said that he regrets believing the lies of Peter Mandelson and that, had he known the depth and extent of the relationship — that we now all know and have confirmed — he would never have appointed him in the first place,” Darren Jones, the prime minister’s chief secretary, told lawmakers. He said that was “why the prime minister has apologized and acknowledged that his appointment was a mistake.”
The vetting document released on Wednesday warned that documents from decades ago would eventually come out, including one exchange showing Mr. Mandelson helping to arrange a meeting between Mr. Epstein and Tony Blair, the former British prime minister.
Another email showed Mr. Mandelson corresponding with Mr. Powell, who was then the chief of staff to Mr. Blair. In the 2002 email, Mr. Mandelson vouches for Mr. Epstein, calling him “someone who has his finger on the pulse of many worldwide markets and currencies,” and adding, “He is young and vibrant. He is safe (whatever that means.)”
After Mr. Mandelson was fired in September, his lawyers requested a pay out of the remainder of his four-year salary as ambassador, which would have amounted to 547,201 pounds, or about $734,000, the documents show. That was rejected by the government and he was given a severance payment of about £75,000.
Conservative lawmakers lashed out at the government on Monday for approving any payment to Mr. Mandelson. Mr. Jones, the senior cabinet minister, replied that the government would not have wanted to pay him “one pound” in compensation. But after legal advice, it was decided that this was “the quickest way to remove Peter Mandelson as ambassador,” he said. Mr. Jones added that the government believed that Mr. Mandelson should either return his severance payment or donate it.
It is not clear whether Mr. Mandelson did either of those things. But the documents show that he left government service last year with some demands for Mr. Starmer’s aides.
Days after he was fired, he demanded that he was allowed to return to London with “maximum dignity,” the records show.
“My chief concern is leaving the U.S. and arriving in the U.K. with the maximum dignity and minimum media intrusion,” Mr. Mandelson wrote in a Sept. 17, 2025 email to an official. “Which I think is to the advantage of all concerned, not least because I remain a crown/civil servant and expect to be treated as such.”
Stephen Castle, Lizzie Dearden and Megan Specia contributed reporting from London.
Michael D. Shear is the chief U.K. correspondent for The New York Times, covering British politics and culture and diplomacy around the world.
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