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Disgraced Peter Mandelson demanded over £500,000 payout from taxpayers

Former Labour politician and peer was dismissed as US ambassador after hyperlinks to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein got here to mild

Peter Mandelson following his resignation (Picture: Getty)

Peter Mandelson demanded a payout of greater than £500,000 after being sacked in shame from his position as US ambassador. And whereas Sir Keir Starmer’s Authorities refused to pay such a big sum, it did hand the previous Labour politician £75,000.

The sums are revealed in newly launched recordsdata that the Authorities was pressured to publish, exhibiting particulars of Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US and his dismissal. The peer was informed to depart Washington after it grew to become clear he had remained near intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein even after the financier’s first conviction. A memo from civil servant Alice McCullough confirms an “settlement to pay the settlement of £75,000 inside seven days of the agreed termination date”.

The word dated October 13, 2025, apparently despatched to Lord Mandelson’s legal professionals, acknowledged: “It’s in each events’ curiosity to conclude this as rapidly as doable and have subsequently proposed a termination date of October 16, 2025, which might allow cost to be made no later than October 17, 2025.”

And a separate inner memo from the civil servant states: “If there’s any pushback, it is likely to be price mentioning that he opened negotiations asking us to pay out his contract (over £500k). Mark did v effectively to get this settlement down this low with minimal fuss.”

Lord Mandelson’s request for greater than £500,000 in severance pay was “inappropriate and unacceptable”, Cupboard Workplace minister Darren Jones has mentioned.

The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister informed MPs: “I’m positive that proper honourable and honourable members throughout the Home will learn in these paperwork with curiosity how Peter Mandelson carried out himself after his withdrawal as ambassador.

“Because the paperwork present relating to his severance cost, Peter Mandelson initially requested a sum that was considerably bigger than the ultimate cost, not simply two and even thrice, however greater than six occasions the ultimate quantity.

“Although he was withdrawn from Washington as a result of he had misplaced the arrogance of the Prime Minister, the Authorities clearly discovered that to be inappropriate and unacceptable.

“The settlement that was agreed was to keep away from even larger additional prices involving a drawn-out authorized declare on the employment tribunal.”

Mr Jones earlier mentioned: “Peter Mandelson ought to by no means have been afforded the privilege of representing this nation, and I reiterate for the Home that the Prime Minister deeply regrets taking him at his phrase, it was a mistake to take action.”

Lord Mandelson additionally instructed utilizing Nigel Farage to higher the UK’s connections with the Trump administration, the paperwork revealed.

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The due diligence report that went to the Prime Minister forward of Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador in Washington quoted the peer as saying of Mr Farage: “You’ll be able to’t ignore him, he’s an elected Member of Parliament.

“He’s a public determine. He’s a bridgehead, each to President Trump and to Elon Musk and others … Nationwide curiosity is served in all types of bizarre methods.”

Sir Keir determined to sack Lord Mandelson after emails launched by Bloomberg “revealed a depth and extent of a relationship with Epstein which he had not been conscious of beforehand when he made the choice to nominate Mandelson”, in line with a No 10 personal workplace word launched on Wednesday.

The memo mentioned that at a gathering on September 11, the Prime Minister “referenced the his concern on the judgements and views expressed within the cache of emails launched by Bloomberg, that the solutions Mandelson supplied to FCDO PUS (International, Commonwealth and Growth Workplace everlasting under-secretary) Olly Robbins relating to the emails didn’t give him confidence that there have been not additional revelations to come back and the intense discomfort within the PLP”.

It added: “The emails revealed a depth and extent of a relationship with Epstein which he had not been conscious of beforehand when he made the choice to nominate Mandelson.

“On this foundation, he proposed to ask Mandelson to resign from his put up as HMA Washington.”

The word additionally mentioned: “The Chief Whip emphasised the intense discomfort amongst the PLP.

“The Prime Minister was clear about his sturdy concern for Epstein’s victims and the significance of the work of the Authorities to deal with violence in opposition to ladies and women.”

Mr Robbins then “spoke by phone to Mandelson in the direction of the tip of the assembly to tell him of the Prime Minister’s determination and of the subsequent steps”, the memo mentioned, including that “it was famous that the Palace had been knowledgeable of the choice in the course of the assembly”.

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