2.3.1 – The structure, role, and powers of the Executive
In a bombshell moment last week, it was announced during a response to an Urgent Question that Peter Mandelson was being withdrawn as the UK’s Ambassador to the United States of America. This followed further revelations about Mandelson’s relationship with the convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson has been a significant figure in British Politics for almost 40 years. His career has been both remarkable in both its length and breadth – with him taking on numerous roles, including Director of Communication for the Labour Party (1985-1990), an MP (1992-2004), a Cabinet Minister (1998, 1999-2001 and 2008-2010), an EU Commissioner (2004-2008), a Life Peer (2008-Present) and First Secretary of State (2009-2010). Mandelson was appointed the UK’s Ambassador to the USA by Keir Starmer in February 2025. However, his career in public life has undoubtedly ended following the revelations about the depth, and length, of his relationship with Epstein.
Mandelson’s career has never been straightforward. He was twice forced to resign as a Cabinet Minister under Tony Blair. On the first occasion, he resigned after it emerged that he had failed to disclose a loan of £373,000 that he had received from a fellow minister to buy a house. On the second occasion, he resigned after it was found that he had personally intervened to help the UK passport application of a billionaire Indian businessman.
Despite his chequered past, Starmer appointed him to be UK Ambassador to the US in February 2025. Starmer felt that Mandelson brought significant expertise to the role. Alongside his ministerial appointments, Mandelson is renowned as an excellent political operator and had been at the very heart of both the Blair and Brown Governments. Unlike other ambassadors, who are rarely household names due to their career being in the diplomatic services, Mandelson bought a gravitas to the role that few others could bring. Given his experience as an EU Commissioner for trade, and as Business Secretary, he was seen as an ideal candidate to try to smooth the way towards a UK-US free trade deal. The relationship between the UK and US has never been more essential and it has never been more precarious, due to the unpredictability that Trump brings to the international arena. As such, Mandelson was seen by many to be an ideal choice.
However, Mandelson was sacked following the details that emerged about Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein. By the end of Wednesday 10 September, it was known that:
- In 2003, Mandelson has written a birthday message to Epstein in which he called him his ‘best pal’.
- While Epstein was imprisoned for child sex offences in 2008, Mandelson had emailed Epstein assuring him he would ‘fight for his early release’ and that ‘your friends stay with you’.
- In 2009, whilst First Secretary of State, Mandelson stayed at Epstein’s Manhattan residence.
- In 2010, Mandelson was linked to a business deal between JP Morgan and a UK firm that Epstein helped to broker.
At PMQs on Wednesday, Kemi Badenoch made this her first line of attack. Starmer repeated a pre-prepared statement saying that “The ambassador has repeatedly expressed his deep regret for his association with Epstein, and he is right to do so. I have confidence in him, and he is playing an important role in the UK-US relationship.” However, when responding to an Urgent Question on Thursday 11 September, Stephen Doughty announced that Mandelson had been withdrawn from his role saying. Mandelson himself had admitted that more embarrassing revelations were bound to emerge. It did not take long for that to emerge. It did not take long for that to happen, with an email being published which highlighted that Mandelson had said that Epstein’s first conviction was ‘wrongful’. As an ambassador, rather than a member of the government, the convention of IMR does not apply. However, the most recent revelations made his position untenable. Questions will now turn to what Keir Starmer knew and when. Following on so close from the Angela Rayner resignation, Mandelson’s sacking just a day after the PM confirmed his support publicly, is damaging to his credibility. This is particularly the case given Starmer’s stated manifesto intention was to bring ‘honesty and integrity’ to politics following so many scandals under the last Conservative government. Opposition parties have asked the government to release the documents relating to Mandelson’s vetting before becoming the Ambassador. The government do not have to release this information as it will be withheld on personal data and national-security grounds. However, an arcane parliamentary tool called a Humble Address can be used. This is a formal motion in the House of Commons asking the Monarch to produce papers for the House of Commons to inspect. This was last used in 2019 to force the government to produce confidential papers relating to how the government planned to deal with a no-deal Brexit. A Humble Address motion would require a majority in the House of Commons and is, therefore, unlikely to pass. Yet, there are enough Labour MPs who are angry at how Keir Starmer has approached this issue that it may see some Labour MPs voting in favour, further denting Starmer’s authority. Alongside the domestic political problems the issue has caused Starmer, he also no has the unenviable task of choosing a replacing ambassador. Mandelson had showed the suppleness to deal with Trump’s eccentric presidency and finding someone to continue to do this may prove very tricky indeed.