The Prince of Darkness burns in the light.

"Mandelson told journalists who questioned him about Epstein  to, "Fuck off" - not the most diplomatic response."

Lord Peter Mandelson, the British Ambassador to Washington, has been fired. Mandelson's close relationship with a notorious convicted sex trafficker was well-known, but recent revelations point to Mandelson lying about details of that relationship. Indeed, much of this should be no surprise, except to the willfully blind PM Kier Starmer, because Mandelson has a track record of imploding.

Mandelson is one of the most influential yet controversial British politicians of modern times, and he is once again at the centre of a political firestorm. Simultaneously, as the flames from the Epstein saga spread, President Trump struggles to dampen the blaze, as it threatens to engulf him. Now he faces a rekindling that is happening from an unexpected direction in the UK.

For decades, Mandelson, a Machiavellian figure with a polite campness, built a reputation for underhand tactics and shady dealings that even involved Hong Kong affairs. With a sharp mind, coupled with relentless ambition, he has rarely been far from power. Now, he may have reached his nadir.

Mandelson first gained public attention as the principal architect of New Labour, which propelled Tony Blair to power in 1997. He served three terms in the UK cabinet but was compelled to resign from high office twice.

He was serving as Minister without portfolio in Tony Blair's first government in 1998, effectively acting as a key strategist and "spin doctor" alongside his role as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. In December 1998, it was revealed that Mandelson had borrowed £373,000 from his fellow Labour MP and Treasury Minister, Geoffrey Robinson, to buy a house in London's upmarket Notting Hill. Mandelson had not declared this loan to his building society or to the Prime Minister's Office.

This loan created a massive conflict of interest, as he was, in his official role, responsible for overseeing an investigation into Geoffrey Robinson's business affairs. The scandal was intensified by the culture of "sleaze" that New Labour had promised to eradicate from the previous Conservative government. Mandelson resigned from the government on 23 December 1998. He was later cleared of breaching any ministerial rules, but the damage had already been done.

After a brief period back on the back benches, Tony Blair reappointed Mandelson as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in 1999. In January 2001, it became known that Mandelson had contacted a Home Office minister, Mike O'Brien, to lobby on behalf of the Hinduja brothers, Indian billionaire businessmen seeking UK citizenship.

The Hinduja brothers had donated £1M to the Faith Zone of the Millennium Dome, a project Mandelson had previously overseen. While an official inquiry later found that Mandelson had not misbehaved, the allegation stuck that he had used his influence to secure a favour for donors. The timing was terrible, coming so soon after his first resignation. Mandelson resigned for the second time on 24 January 2001.

After his second resignation, Tony Blair helped secure Mandelson a position as the British European Commissioner in Brussels in 2004. He was reappointed for a second term in 2008. In October 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown brought Mandelson back into the UK cabinet as Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. To assume this role, Mandelson had to resign from his position in the European Commission.

He became a compelling figure as Business Secretary and later First Secretary of State, serving as a vital stabilising force for Gordon Brown's government during the global financial crisis. This revival of Mandelson’s career was regarded as the "comeback of all comebacks."

Throughout all this, Mandelson built a reputation that earned him the nickname, 'The Prince of Darkness.' At times, working alongside Alister ‘Goebbels' Campbell, he was known to bully journalists and feed the press stories as a distraction.

Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, believes Mandelson targeted him in 1997 as part of Labour Party spin efforts to distract the media. Patten claims that Mandelson leaked a false story alleging he was under investigation for breaking the Official Secrets Act. This subterfuge still irritates Patten because he mentioned it again in a recent interview.

Then again, Mandelson has a history of looking down on others, including Labour voters. "They've got nowhere else to go" was his response when Labour policies threatened to harm their core supporters. That statement hasn’t aged well because working-class voters are abandoning Labour in favour of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party.

No doubt Patten and many others, journalists and politicians, will be relishing Mandelson's fate.

Recently, the MSM awoke to the fact that Mandelson continued his support for Epstein after his conviction. In the process, reporters dug deeper to reveal the depth of Mandelson's relationship with Esptein. However, much of this information is already in the public domain, raising questions about the vetting process Mandelson underwent before his appointment.

Mandelson was appointed ambassador to Washington in February this year; that raised many eyebrows. Some thought the appointment was brilliant, considering Mandelson's flattery towards Trump was seen to work, although it was excessive. Others anticipated a considerable risk because of Mandelson's history.

Unfortunately, Starmer either didn't count on the Epstein factor or ignored advice. Mandelson enjoyed stays at Epstein's infamous pedo island, rode on his private jet and used his New York mansion. Mandelson told journalists who questioned him about this to "Fuck off" - not the most diplomatic response.

When pressed, Mandelson would insist he was unaware of Epstein's illegal actions and would express regret for having met him. However, the evidence now suggests Mandelson lied. 

The release of Epstein's 2003 50th birthday book and emails point to Mandelson supporting the sex offender after his conviction, offering advice on how to appeal and expressing his 'love' for Epstein. Comments like 'yum, yum' and 'my best pal' are hard to reconcile with Mandelson's claims.

In a June 2008 email, Mandelson wrote to Epstein: "I think the world of you, and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened. I can still barely understand it. It just could not happen in Britain. You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can." It continued: "Everything can be turned into an opportunity, and you will come through it and be stronger for it."

Just before sentencing, Mandelson wrote to Epstein, "You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can. The whole thing has been years of torture, and now you have to show the world how big a person you are, and how strong."

In July 2009, when he was the UK business secretary, Mandelson stayed at Epstein's townhouse in Manhattan while the financier was in prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

In 2010, following Epstein's release from prison, Mandelson asked for his assistance to arrange a deal for JP Morgan to buy a stake in the UK government-owned RBS bank.

All these facts, which Mandelson does not deny, reveal a deception in which he claims he ended contact and feels great sympathy for Epstein's victims. The truth is that Mandelson continued to utilise his relationship with Epstein.

He even offered Epstein support after his conviction, asserting, "Your friends love you."

After dithering in the face of the evidence, Starmer sacked Mandelson today (Thursday, 11 Sept). All of this raises questions about Mandelson's vetting process. Even the information in the public domain before this week suggested Mandelson had misled about his relationship with Epstein.

If, as Starmer claims, "Proper checks were done," then questions emerge about the thoroughness of those checks or whether anything was swept under the carpet. Even yesterday, Starmer was asserting his confidence in Mandelson, a stance that appeared unsustainable.

Which brings us to Trump. Mandelson's appointment was all about securing a trade deal for the UK with a tariff-obsessed Trump. And by all accounts, Mandelson has ingratiated himself with Trump and his team. However, Trump also features in the Epstein 50th birthday book—an entry that Trump claims is fake.

Trump has worked tirelessly to distract the media from his connections with Epstein. He will not welcome this flare-up of media attention.

Mandelson has admitted his entry in the book is genuine, as have many other contributors. The 238-page book contains messages and photos sent by many of Epstein's friends, including a letter bearing a signature that resembles that of President Donald Trump.

This puts Trump in a tricky position. Why, out of all the entries, is only his fake? Is that possible? Is that believable?  

Next week, Trump is scheduled to visit the UK on a State visit. That should be entertaining for Starmer and the King, as the Epstein story persists and once again makes headlines.


Starmer’s judgment is now the focus of much attention. A week after he sacked his deputy, his government is looking increasingly lost. And he still has three years to go.

Meanwhile, the corpse of Peter Mandelson's political career is burning in the blaze of publicity. For a man who enjoyed the high life and sought the company of the rich and famous, this downfall is mainly due to his own actions.

Why do such talented men fall for the allure of luxury, peddled by tricksters? I’m sure there is a study somewhere into this.

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive" (Sir Walter Scott, 1808)