After files released by the U.S. Department of Justice revealed a decades-long relationship between former British ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson and the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Mandelson has been asked to cooperate with the U.S. Congress’s investigation.
Members of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform have sent a letter to Lord Mandelson, a one-time British ambassador to Washington DC, requesting that he make himself available for transcribed interview as part of the congressional probe into Epstein’s criminal operations and potential networks of co-conspirators and enablers. The request reflects congressional leaders’ belief that Mandelson may hold “critical information” about Epstein’s activities and connections.
Representatives Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam, both Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, signed the letter to Mandelson, citing evidence of extensive social and business ties between the former ambassador and Epstein.
“While you no longer serve as British ambassador to the United States and have stepped down from the House of Lords, it is clear that you possessed extensive social and business ties to Jeffrey Epstein and hold critical information pertaining to our investigation of Epstein’s operations,” the lawmakers wrote, urging Mandelson to participate in a transcribed committee interview. They have given him until Feb. 27 to respond to the request.
According to reporting from the BBC, the evidence cited includes numerous references to Mandelson in the 3.5 million documents recently released from the Epstein files, including a handwritten birthday book entry in which Mandelson described Epstein as his “best pal,” photographs released by the Department of Justice, and records suggesting Mandelson had stayed at Epstein’s New York residence in 2009 while Epstein was serving a prison sentence.
Mandelson’s association with Epstein dates back more than two decades and was already under public scrutiny before the latest congressional letter. Newly released emails and documents revealed the former Labour cabinet minister maintained contact with Epstein after Epstein’s first conviction in 2008, something that later drew sharp criticism. It also emerged from those files that Epstein had made payments to Mandelson and his partner in the early 2000s, and that Mandelson may have discussed policy matters with Epstein that intersected with his official government roles.
The controversy prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer to sack Mandelson from the ambassadorial role in Washington in September 2025, citing concerns that newly surfaced information had materially changed the understanding of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein. Mandelson later resigned from the House of Lords and left the Labour Party altogether amid the intensifying political fallout.
