Chris Rokos hedge fund ends talks with Peter Mandelson on advisory role
A $22bn (£16bn) London hedge fund has “terminated” talks with Peter Mandelson over an advisory role after emails revealed that the former UK business secretary may have leaked sensitive government information to the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Rokos Capital Management (RCM), which is run by the financier Chris Rokos, had been in discussions to hire Mandelson, who had been searching for a new role after being sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US in September following pressure over his ties to Epstein.However, Mandelson resigned from the Labour party on Sunday, after the US Department of Justice released millions of additional documents that shed new light on the extent of his relationship with Epstein.Those emails not only showed the extent to which Mandelson stayed in contact with Epstein after Epstein’s first prison sentence for child sex offences in 2008, but also that in 2009 he apparently forwarded to Epstein highly sensitive information he had received as business secretary under Gordon Brown, including government responses to the global financial crisis.The Metropolitan police have launched a criminal investigation into Mandelson over allegations he leaked market-sensitive emails to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial over child sex trafficking charges.
Mandelson stepped down from the House of Lords on Tuesday,The hedge fund said: “RCM works with many consultants,We were in discussion with Peter Mandelson about adding him to our deep bench of consultants, but following the recent revelations on Friday, all such discussions were immediately terminated,”He had previously been paid for advisory work for Rokos, including in 2024 and 2025, according to the register of commercial and financial interests for members of the House of Lords,Mandelson told the Financial Times, which first reported the recent discussions had ended, that he had not worked at the hedge fund since he took the role as US ambassador, in February 2025.
“I advised Rokos before becoming ambassador.We have not had any relationship since I was appointed as ambassador,” he said.Chris Rokos is among the UK’s biggest taxpayers and, according to last year’s Sunday Times rich list, he is estimated to be worth £2.6bn.The 55-year-old billionaire is known for his role as a bond trader, having started his career at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse before co-founding the hedge fund Brevan Howard.
He launched RCM, which employs more than 350 people, in 2015, making a further name for himself in the finance world.He recently made headlines for embarking on the most expensive home renovation in England, after buying the 200-room Tottenham House, a 18th-century mansion in Wiltshire.Mandelson was contacted for comment.
Barclays reportedly cuts ties with lobbying firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson
Barclays has reportedly cut ties with the lobbying firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson, after intense scrutiny of the founders’ dealings with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Vodafone has also said it is reviewing its contract for public affairs services with Global Counsel, which Mandelson co-founded in 2010 after Labour lost the general election.Mandelson has tried to distance himself from the lobbying firm after the revelations of the extent of his relationship with Epstein sparked a major political scandal. Mandelson resigned from the Labour party on Sunday.The former minister was sacked as ambassador to the US in September after the emergence of emails that suggested he had a close relationship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial over child sex-trafficking charges
Shell will consider fossil fuel investment in Venezuela, says chief executive
Shell is considering fossil fuel investments in Venezuela worth billions of dollars, according to its chief executive.Wael Sawan said Europe’s largest oil company is weighing plans for production projects off the Venezuelan coast that could begin yielding gas in the next couple of years. “These are opportunities that could potentially be activated within months,” he told CNBC, adding that the company was now awaiting approvals.Shell’s fresh interest in the South American country has emerged a week after Venezuela passed sweeping reforms to its hydrocarbon laws to encourage increases in oil and gas production and foreign investment, in line with calls from the US president, Donald Trump, to revive the industry.Trump called for America’s biggest oil companies to reignite Venezuela’s struggling oil industry after removing the former president Nicolás Maduro last month, but the suggestion received a tepid response from executives, including the chief executive of ExxonMobil, Darren Woods, who said that political stability was vital before investments could take place
‘Orwellian’: Sainsbury’s staff using facial recognition tech eject innocent shopper
A man was ordered to leave a supermarket in London after staff misidentified him using controversial new facial recognition technology.Warren Rajah was told to abandon his shopping and leave the local store he has been using for a number of years after an “Orwellian” error in a Sainsbury’s in Elephant and Castle, London.He said supermarket staff were unable to explain why he was being told to leave, and would only direct him to a QR code leading to the website of the firm Facewatch, which the retailer has hired to run facial recognition in some of its stores. He said when he contacted Facewatch, he was told to send in a picture of himself and a photograph of his passport before the firm confirmed it had no record of him on its database.“One of the reasons I was angry was because I shouldn’t have to prove I am innocent,” Rajah said
What does the disappearance of a $100bn deal mean for the AI economy?
Did the circular AI economy just wobble? Last week it was reported that a much-discussed $100bn deal – announced last September – between Nvidia and OpenAI might not be happening at all.This was a circular arrangement through which the chipmaker would supply the ChatGPT developer with huge sums of money that would largely go towards the purchase of its own chips.It is this type of deal that has alarmed some market watchers, who detect a whiff of the 1999-2000 dotcom bubble in these transactions.Now it seems that Nvidia was not as solid on this investment as had been widely believed, according to the Wall Street Journal. Negotiations had not progressed, with Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, privately emphasising that the deal was “non-binding” and “not finalised”
Team GB chief predicts ‘most potent’ Winter Games ever with sights set on eight medals
Team GB have never made anything more than the occasional ripple at the Winter Olympics. Which makes the prediction of Eve Muirhead, Britain’s chef de mission at the Milano Cortina Games, rather extraordinary.“I believe that we are taking one of the most potent teams of athletes that we have taken to a Winter Olympic Games,” she says. “We have the capability to disrupt the norm.”That norm, between 1952 and 2010, was just 12 medals in 16 Winter Games
Feyi-Waboso hands England Six Nations injury scare 48 hours before Wales opener
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has given England a late injury scare before they start their Six Nations campaign against Wales on Saturday after pulling up in training.The Exeter wing was unable to complete England’s session at Pennyhill Park due to a leg injury with Steve Borthwick’s medical staff investigating its extent on Thursday night.If Feyi-Waboso is ruled out, Elliot Daly would appear the most likely candidate to play on the wing against Wales while Borthwick could also move Tommy Freeman from midfield and introduce Henry Slade or Max Ojomoh at centre. A more radical option would be to move Freddie Steward to the wing and select Marcus Smith, who has been named on the bench, at full-back. Cadan Murley of Harlequins was also named in the squad, but is due to appear for England A against Ireland on Friday night
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