Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged former UK ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson and the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, to cooperate fully with US authorities after newly disclosed material in the Jeffrey Epstein case triggered renewed political and public fallout across Britain.
The intervention came after the US Justice Department released a cache of Epstein-related emails that, according to reporting by *The Wall Street Journal*, include allegations that Mandelson shared confidential UK government information with Epstein and received payments linked to the late financier. Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in 2019, has long been connected to prominent figures on both sides of the Atlantic.
The disclosures have rapidly become a fresh test of Starmer’s judgement and government oversight, particularly because Mandelson, a senior Labour figure and longstanding powerbroker, was appointed UK ambassador to the US in 2025 and is now facing intensified scrutiny over his past relationship with Epstein.
According to the emails cited in the reporting, Mandelson forwarded sensitive UK government correspondence to Epstein while serving as Business Secretary, raising questions about whether privileged information may have been shared outside official channels. One email exchange quoted in the disclosures shows Epstein responding, “what saleable assets,” after receiving forwarded UK government material.
The disclosures also reference financial records suggesting Epstein wired three payments of $25,000 to Mandelson in 2003 and 2004, totalling $75,000. The reporting further says Epstein later provided funds at the request of Mandelson’s partner.
In another exchange highlighted in the material, Mandelson wrote to Epstein in 2009: “You are the only person who knows everything about me… Don’t go away.”
The emails also describe a message sent during the eurozone crisis in May 2010 in which Mandelson appeared to confirm to Epstein in advance that a €500bn bailout package was imminent, an allegation that has added to calls for a formal investigation into whether any information was improperly disclosed.
The Metropolitan Police said it is reviewing the allegations to determine whether they meet the threshold for a criminal investigation, a step that would mark a significant escalation in the UK response to the latest round of Epstein-related disclosures.
In the US, the House Oversight Committee is reported to be preparing a formal request for Mandelson’s testimony, underlining the widening transatlantic dimension of the case and the prospect of further political and legal pressure.
Starmer has ordered an urgent inquiry into the latest claims and publicly pressed both Mandelson and Prince Andrew to assist US investigators, as fresh attention returns to Epstein’s connections with prominent public figures. Prince Andrew’s association with Epstein has previously prompted controversy and reputational damage for the royal household, and the Prime Minister’s comments indicate the government expects cooperation where US authorities request it.
Criticism has also come from former officials. Nick Butler, a former senior government adviser, told *The Times* he was “disgusted by the breach of trust,” suggesting that the alleged disclosure of government material may have been intended to help Epstein make money.
The new disclosures are the latest development in a long-running international reckoning over Epstein’s relationships with political, financial and royal elites. In Britain, the allegations have revived broader questions about transparency, vetting and accountability at the highest levels of public life, with attention now focused on whether UK police open a full investigation, whether Mandelson gives evidence to US lawmakers and whether renewed scrutiny expands further into royal circles.
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