bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

The former British ambassador to the United States and former government minister Peter Mandelson is facing demands to hand back the payoff he received after being sacked as US envoy.
The senior Labour Party figure was sacked over his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, but anger in Westminster has intensified after the latest release of documents which indicated he leaked information to his friend while he was a government minister.
Allies of Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the peer should give the taxpayer-funded handout back or donate it to a victims’ charity.
The Foreign Office said a review had been launched “in light of further information that has now been revealed”.
The taxpayer-funded payoff he received after being dismissed in September last year could be as high as £55,000 (US$75,000) before tax and deductions, the Sunday Times reported.
Starmer has been left fighting for his future amid questions over his judgment in appointing Mandelson to the role.

Full details about Mandelson’s payoff, after being thrown out after just seven months in the Washington role, will be disclosed to Parliament after MPs backed a call for the disclosure of papers relating to his time in the government.
But the Sunday Times suggested the figure could be between £38,750 and £55,000, based on Lord Mandelson being paid at the highest rate in the diplomatic service, an annual salary of between £155,000 and £220,000, and qualifying for a three-month payoff.
A source within the government said: “Given what we know now, Mandelson should either pay the money back or give it to a charity to support victims.”
Earlier this week, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, a potential successor to Starmer but someone who was friendly with Mandelson before his downfall, said the peer should “certainly” hand back the money.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Peter Mandelson’s civil service employment was terminated in September 2025 in accordance with legal advice and the terms and conditions of his employment.
“As we have consistently said to parliament, normal civil service HR processes were followed.

“Further information will be provided to parliament as part of the Government response to the motion passed last week which is being coordinated by Cabinet Office.
“A review has been instigated in light of further information that has now been revealed and the ongoing police investigation.”
The Metropolitan Police said its investigation into Mandelson, 72, over alleged misconduct in public office would “take some time” after officers finished searching his homes in London and Wiltshire.
“This will be a complex investigation requiring a significant amount of further evidence gathering and analysis,” Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Hayley Sewart said.
Mandelson was appointed ambassador while David Lammy was foreign secretary.
The Sunday Telegraph, citing friends of the deputy prime minister, suggested he had not been in favour of giving him the prized Washington job, but allies of Starmer and Lammy played down any suggestion of a rift between them.
A spokesman for the deputy prime minister said: “The deputy prime minister is focused on the job in hand and fully supports the prime minister as he gets on with delivering for the British people.”

The damage caused to Starmer’s position by the Mandelson row has fuelled speculation about a possible leadership contest, and allies of Streeting and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who quit the Government after underpaying stamp duty, engaged in briefing wars over the weekend.
A friend of Rayner quoted in the Sunday Telegraph said MPs who were “frothing at the mouth” at the chance to install Streeting as leader were “mad because he has been damaged by association with Mandy”, referencing Mandelson by a nickname.
But allies of Streeting criticised Rayner’s “little helpers”, with a source quoted as saying: “They are doing this to try to distract from her own tax scandal. The Labour Party is pretty sick of the toxic briefing culture in No 10 and will not want to bring in something even more nasty.”
A poll by Opinium indicated that more than half, 55 per cent, of British voters thought Starmer should quit as Labour leader, with just 23 per cent saying he should remain.
Starmer’s net approval rate fell three points in a fortnight to minus 44, with 61 per cent of those surveyed saying they disapproved of him and just 17 per cent saying they approved.
Opinium surveyed more than 2,000 adults between Wednesday and Friday.


Mandelson Epstein scandal: demands grow for ex-envoy to repay US$75,000 severance

Outcry in Bangladesh over politician’s call to curb women in workforce

UK needs an independent China policy, not just a Trump hedge

Russia launches ‘massive attack’ on Ukraine power grid despite ongoing US-led peace talks

Britain

Peter Mandelson speaks during a ceremonty in the National Gallery in London in June 2025. Photo: AP

From left: Jeffrey Epstein, Peter Mandelson, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Earlier this month, Starmer expressed regret over appointing Mandelson as US ambassador amid scrutiny of his ties to Epstein. Photo: New York State Sex Offender Registry/AFP

Peter Mandelson (left) sits with late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as he blows out the candles on a cake, in an undated photograph released on December 19, 2025. Photo: US Justice Department/Reuters

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (right) with then-UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson at a Washington reception in February 2025. Photo: AP

Epstein files scandal triggers UK criminal probe as Mandelson quits parliament

Peter Mandelson will quit House of Lords in storm over Epstein ties. Photo: Reuters

Peter Mandelson when he was British ambassador to the United States in 2025. Photo: AP

Then-ambassador Peter Mandelson and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in 2025. Photo: AP 

Then-ambassador Peter Mandelson in the Oval Office with US President Donald Trump in May 2025. Photo: AP

UK’s former US ambassador faces scrutiny over Epstein ties, leaked briefing

Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US. Photo: BBC via Reuters

Then-ambassador Peter Mandelson and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington in February 2025. Photo: AP

Epstein haunts Number 10, creating crisis for UK’s Starmer

10 Downing Street in London. Photo: Reuters

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaving 10 Downing Street on Monday. Photo: AFP

Then-ambassador Peter Mandelson and Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington in  February 2025. Photo: Reuters

Prime Minister Keir Starmer answers questions in Parliament on Wednesday. Photo: House of Commons via Reuters

Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein in an undated photograph. Photo: US Justice Department via Reuters

Starmer apologises after Mandelson-Epstein ties spark UK political storm

Keir Starmer on Wednesday told parliament he regretted appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador amid controversy over Mandelson’s Epstein ties. Photo: PRU/AFP

Starmer, right, and then-British ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson are pictured during a welcome reception at the ambassador’s residence in Washington in February 2025. Photo: dpa

From left: Jeffrey Epstein, Peter Mandelson and Starmer. The British prime minister apologised on Thursday for appointing Mandelson as US ambassador amid controversy over Mandelson’s Epstein ties. Photo: AFP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

News

World

Europe

Government allies urge ex-ambassador to return controversial UK taxpayer-funded buyout as probe into his Epstein connections deepens


Government allies urge ex-ambassador to return controversial UK taxpayer-funded buyout as probe into his Epstein connections deepens.


Mandelson Epstein scandal: demands grow for ex-envoy to repay US$75,000 severance

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Government allies urge ex-ambassador to return controversial UK taxpayer-funded buyout as probe into his Epstein connections deepens

Government allies urge ex-ambassador to return controversial UK taxpayer-funded buyout as probe into his Epstein connections deepens