Peter Mandelson’s advisory firm is cutting ties with him after his firing as US ambassador after the extent of his relationship with the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was revealed in emails.
Global Counsel, which Mandelson co-founded in 2010 alongside Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, is selling off his multimillion pound stake.
The company started the sell-off of Mandelson’s stake this year and is expected to conclude the process in the next two months, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Mandelson’s ties to Global Counsel came under fresh scrutiny after the depth and extent of his relationship with Epstein was revealed by the emails, including the suggestion that his first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged.
His relationship with Epstein extended to describing him as his “best pal”, and a photograph emerged this week of Mandelson lounging in a white bathrobe with Epstein.
One of Mandelson’s emails to Epstein said: “Your friends stay with you and love you.”
The company, which helps clients “anticipate regulatory and political change”, has advised firms including JP Morgan, Barclays, Open AI, Anglo American, the fast-fashion retailer Shein and TikTok.
Archie Norman, the chair of FTSE 100 retailer Marks & Spencer, is its vice-chair.
Mandelson, who was a minister in Tony Blair’s Labour government but was forced to resign twice, stepped back from Global Counsel after being appointed bythe prime minister, Keir Starmer, as ambassador to the US in December.
In January, he entered into an agreement with Global Counsel to sell his stake in the business over time, but recent Companies House filings have shown he still retains a 21% stake. In May last year, Mandelson resigned as a director.
Mandelson’s first departure from the government in 1998, in the role of trade and industry secretary, concerned an undeclared £373,000 loan he had taken from a wealthy colleague, Geoffrey Robinson, to buy a London house while the pair were in opposition.
Robinson, a successful businessman, stepped down from the post of paymaster general alongside Mandelson.
Mandelson was brought back as Northern Ireland secretary, but in 2001 he submitted another resignation letter when it emerged he had contacted the Home Office in 1998 on behalf of Indian-born billionaire businessman Srichand Hinduja, who was seeking British citizenship.
Hinduja was a £1m donor to the high-profile Millennium Dome project in Greenwich, south-east London, which Mandelson was overseeing. There was no suggestion Mandelson benefited from Hinduja’s largesse.
Global Counsel declined to comment. Mandelson declined to comment to Bloomberg and the Financial Times.
