Mandelson lobbying firm sought work with Russia and China state companies, Epstein emails show

Peter Mandelson’s former lobbying firm sought work with companies controlled by the governments of Russia and China shortly after he left ministerial office, according to emails the disgraced former minister forwarded to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The emails show how Mandelson and Benjamin Wegg-Prosser scrambled to drum up high-paying foreign business after co-founding Global Counsel even as Mandelson remained a member of the House of Lords. Potential clients included the Russian state investment firm Rusnano and the state-owned China International Capital Corporation, the emails suggest.The emails also showed that Wegg-Prosser met Epstein at his New York townhouse in 2010 to discuss the business. A person with knowledge of the situation said the meeting was at Mandelson’s request and only lasted 25 minutes

Gordon Brown ‘deeply regrets’ bringing Peter Mandelson into his government

Gordon Brown has said he deeply regrets bringing Peter Mandelson into his government, and that revelations about Jeffrey Epstein’s influence on UK politics had caused him revulsion.Writing in the Guardian, Brown said the news that Mandelson was passing information to Epstein while he was business secretary was “a betrayal of everything we stand for as a country”.Brown said he was at fault for making Mandelson a peer and bringing him back into government in 2008, after Mandelson had quit as an MP to become EU trade commissioner.“I have to take personal responsibility for appointing Mandelson to his ministerial role in 2008. I greatly regret this appointment,” he wrote, saying that at the time he was told that Mandelson’s record in Brussels had been “unblemished” and he did not know about any Epstein links

Police search two homes connected to Peter Mandelson over Epstein scandal

Police are searching two properties connected to Peter Mandelson as part of an investigation into claims that he passed market-sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein.A Metropolitan police statement, which did not name Mandelson, said searches were taking place in Camden, north London, and Wiltshire. Mandelson has been living in a rented property in Wiltshire since being sacked as ambassador to the US over his links to the late convicted child sex offender.The deputy assistant commissioner Hayley Sewart said: “Officers from the Met’s central specialist crime team are in the process of carrying out search warrants at two addresses, one in the Wiltshire area, and another in the Camden area.“The searches are related to an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office offences, involving a 72-year-old man

Court battle over Picasso art exposes offshore finances of Farage’s billionaire Davos sponsor

A high court battle over a Picasso painting has shone a light on the offshore financial structures of an Iranian-born businessman who paid for Nigel Farage’s £50,000 trip to Davos.The details about Sasan Ghandehari, who funded Farage’s tickets to the summit, emerged in court papers about a £4m claim brought by a British Virgin Islands firm, which has accused Christie’s auction house of misrepresentation when it sold the art to it.Ghandehari, a British citizen who is reported to have a $10bn (£7.3bn) family trust, is described in the original claim as a representative who arranged the deal for the firm, Brewer Management Corporation. A recent judgment shows that his wife, Yassmin Ghandehari, is “apparently the ultimate beneficial owner” of this BVI company

Police search properties related to Peter Mandelson investigation - as it happened

Police have carried out search warrants in relation to their investigation into misconduct in public office, they said on Friday, following reports about the conduct of former UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson.The police said they were carrying out search warrants at two addresses, one in the Wiltshire area and another in the Camden, north London.The police added that they had not arrested the man involved in the investigation, who they said was a 72-year-old.That’s all from me, Tom Ambrose, and the UK politics blog for today. Thanks for following along

‘Pestering for a role’: how Mandelson talked his way back into the Labour fold

A general election was on the horizon and Peter Mandelson was everywhere. “He didn’t have a desk but he would dip in and out on big issues; he was always there for advice,” recalled a former Labour official of the party’s run-up to the campaign in 2024.“He would be in and out of the Loto [leader of the opposition] office in Westminster, picking people off individually, ‘We need to chat and do this’, sort of thing.”The Labour peer’s presence was welcomed by some, who found it reassuring to have a member of the election-winning New Labour team around, but others were notably seeking to keep a distance.“Sue didn’t want him near anything,” said the source of Sue Gray, who was then Keir Starmer’s chief of staff and for six years before that was head of the Cabinet Office’s ethics and propriety team