Lord Mandelson's Ties to Jeffrey Epstein Uncovered as Leaked Emails Reveal Advisement on Fighting for Early Release

Lord Mandelson advised Jeffrey Epstein to fight for an early release after the financier was convicted of child prostitution, leaked emails reveal. The Labour peer counselled and consoled Epstein while he was being investigated for child sex crimes in messages exchanged between the pair. The emergence of the correspondence has fuelled renewed calls for Lord Mandelson to be sacked as Britain's ambassador to the US. Sir Keir Starmer insisted he would stand by the peer, but the scandal over his close friendship with Epstein is now threatening to engulf Downing Street.

Key Takeaways:

• Lord Mandelson advised Jeffrey Epstein to fight for an early release after he was convicted of child prostitution in 2008, as revealed in leaked emails.
• The Labour peer counselled and consoled Epstein while he was being investigated for child sex crimes in messages exchanged between the pair.
• Lord Mandelson wrote to Epstein, telling him to be "incredibly resilient, fight for early release, and be philosophical about it as much as you can" and advised him to "show the world how big a person you are, and how strong".
• Lord Mandelson offered Epstein guidance on how to resurrect his reputation, quoting the ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu, saying "You are fighting back so you need strategy, strategy, strategy. Remember the Art of War".
• Lord Mandelson acknowledged that he foolishly relied on Epstein's lawyers' assurances of his innocence, which turned out to be "horrifically false".
• The scandal surrounding Lord Mandelson's friendship with Epstein has sparked renewed calls for him to be sacked as Britain's ambassador to the US.

Statistics:

• 2008: The year Jeffrey Epstein was convicted of child prostitution.
• £1 billion: The amount of a deal brokered by Epstein with Lord Mandelson concerning the sale of a UK taxpayer-owned business.
• 2013/2014: The time frame during which Lord Mandelson was being investigated by the Metropolitan Police over allegations of corruption and misconduct in public office related to his friendship with Epstein.
• 6: The number of very embarrassing details about his friendship with Epstein, according to Lord Mandelson, that have yet to be revealed.

Sources:

• "Lord Mandelson advised Jeffrey Epstein to fight for early release after conviction of child prostitution, leaked emails show"
• "Lord Mandelson's loyalty email to Jeffrey Epstein revealed as Labour peer questioned over ties to financier"
• The Telegraph
• The Sun newspaper
• The BBC
• The Sunday Telegraph