Thank you to those constituents who have contacted me about Peter Mandelson’s appointment as Ambassador and his actions as Business Secretary.
My overwhelming thoughts throughout this shameful episode are with the hundreds of women and girls coerced, manipulated, abused, and harmed by Jeffrey Epstein and the rich, powerful men within his web. Seven years after Epstein’s death, and after millions of items of evidence have been released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), only one person has been convicted and jailed. Hundreds of perpetrators remain at large, and justice is still to be done.
The appointment of Peter Mandelson – now we know the extent and closeness of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein – as the UK’s Ambassador to the US was a great mistake. I share the Prime Minister’s own sense of fury and disappointment at the levels of betrayal and mendacity. It is right that the Prime Minister has sacked Peter Mandelson, and that Mandelson has been stripped of his titles. Peter Mandelson will play no further role in our public life.
The questions remain about the appointment, and I welcome the government inquiry that the Prime Minister announced in February 2026. I want to see the scope of this inquiry include the nature of advice the Prime Minister received, the nature of the vetting process for candidates for the Ambassador job, what information the candidates were expected to share, due diligence , and other details about the appointment. We also need to know what information Mandelson released when he was Business Secretary.
It is right that Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has oversight of the release of information, based on the UK’s national interest. The UK’s standing on the international stage has been damaged by recent events, and I don’t want to see further damage done to our relationships and national interest. I have faith in the senior Parliamentarians on the committee, and the most senior civil servants, who are above party politics, conducting the inquiry, to do the right thing and get to the truth.
This has been a shameful episode, distracting attention from the Government’s agenda and important initiatives such as the national cancer plan, the Pride in Place funding awards to communities, national apprenticeships, and so much else. Now, I want to see a period of stability and delivery of the Government’s programme while the inquiry does its work. Talking to local people, it seems to me that most people care more about what is happening on our streets and in our communities than Westminster intrigues.
Thank you for contacting me about this important issue.
Best wishes
Rt Hon Hilary Benn
MP for Leeds South
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland