Tony Blair met Jeffrey Epstein in Downing Street on Mandelson's advice
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Newly released documents reveal Tony Blair met Jeffrey Epstein in No. 10 in 2002 following Peter Mandelson’s recommendation.
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Britain's former Prime Minister Tony Blair walks through the COP28 UN Climate Summit, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AP)
Following a recommendation by Lord Peter Mandelson, Sir Tony Blair met with Jeffrey Epstein in Downing Street while he was prime minister, as revealed by newly released papers from the National Archives.
Following a suggestion from Lord Mandelson, former British Ambassador to the US, to the prime minister's then-chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, Jeffrey Epstein visited Tony Blair on May 14, 2002, which occurred before Mandelson was sacked as a minister in September after new information emerged about how close he was to the convicted sex offender.
Although he was a backbench Labour MP at the time and had resigned from government a second time just over a year earlier, Mandelson remained a trusted ally to Blair and, in an email to Powell before the meeting, described Epstein as "safe" and a "friend" when making the recommendation.
According to papers released to the BBC, a briefing memo by the senior civil servant Matthew Rycroft described Epstein as being close to Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, as well as a friend of Mandelson and the then-US president Bill Clinton.
A spokesperson for Blair stated that the meeting occurred long before Epstein's crimes were known and his subsequent conviction, while a government spokesperson explained that Powell had only forwarded the request in his role as chief of staff.
Documents kept secret released under freedom of information request
After the release of the documents was initially blocked by government officials over concerns it may affect UK-US relations, the National Archives has now released the document as a result of a freedom of information request.
According to the BBC, an email from Mandelson to Powell a week before the meeting asked if Powell remembered that when Clinton saw Tony Blair, he said he wanted to introduce his traveling friend, Jeffrey Epstein, to Blair.
Mandelson continued in the email, stating that the previous introduction had been blocked by Blair's office for reasons Blair himself claimed to be unclear about, and then expressing his belief that Blair would find it interesting to meet Jeffrey. He described Epstein as a friend who was not only an active scientific catalyst and entrepreneur but also someone with a keen understanding of numerous worldwide markets and currencies.
A later briefing on the day of the meeting by Rycroft, who went on to serve as permanent secretary at the Home Office until 2025, said about Epstein, “He is a financial adviser to the super-rich and a property developer. He is a friend of Bill Clinton and Peter Mandelson," adding that Epstein's background is very rich and that he is close to the Duke of York at the time.
A Blair spokesperson said the 2002 meeting lasted under thirty minutes and focused on US-UK politics, noting that Blair never saw Epstein again and that this was long before his crimes were known or his conviction.
