Peter Mandelson appears to have plotted with Jeffrey Epstein to oust Gordon Brown as he struggled to cling onto power during his final months in office.
The disgraced Labour grandee seemingly schemed with Epstein behind Mr Brown’s back until his departure from government, often giving him the inside scoop right from the heart of Downing Street.
At times, Epstein appeared to urge Mandelson to make his own move for the top job despite his Labour peerage which prevented him from becoming PM.
In one exchange the paedophile financier appeared to joke that Mandelson should marry Princess Anne and then divorce her, which would effectively dissolve his Lordship status.
At other times Epstein flouted the idea of a joint leadership bid between his friend and David Miliband – another leading Blairite and close ally of the PM.
But, 15-years on and the emails have come back to haunt the peer, who is now under investigation by the Metropolitan Police for misconduct in public office.
While he was a Cabinet minister, the former spin doctor repeatedly tipped off the tycoon about market-sensitive government plans, files released by the US Department of Justice suggest.
Mandelson, who has always denied wrongdoing, is now likely to be interviewed by officers over claims that his dealings with Epstein broke the law.
Peter Mandelson (right) seemingly plotted to oust Gordon Brown as he struggled to cling onto power during his final months in office
Peter Mandelson pictured with Jeffrey Epstein on a yacht
Epstein’s meddling in Brown’s Government seemingly began in October 2008, when Mandelson was appointed as business secretary and handed a peerage in a triumphant returned to cabinet.
He sent Mandelson a message on the day he was appointed, congratulating him on one of the greatest poliical (sic) revival opportunitis (sic) of all time’.
Epstein added: ‘Laws need to be changed. It will take time, Gordon thinks like an old man. Old solutions will not work. You will be the architect of LABOR 2.O.’
Almost a year later, once Epstein had served his jail sentence in Florida after being convicted of child sex offences, the exchanges resumed.
In a message to Mandelson in October 2009, Epstein seemingly had the idea to try and maneuver his friend to the top of Government.
He joked about marrying Mandelson off to Princess Anne, saying if they divorced he ‘could be prime minister, as the peerage evaporates on a merger with the monarchy’.
In another message later that day, Epstein also suggested he ‘marry Princess Beatrice’, adding ‘the queen would have a queen as a grandson’.
The former MP appears to have replied: ‘Remember, I am already her Lord President’, to which the disgraced financier said: ‘Does that make it incest, how exciting.’
Peter Mandelson in a photo released as part of the Jeffery Epstein-related files by US Justice
Lord Mandelson talking to a woman in a white bath robe while in his underwear. His spokesman claimed he had ‘no idea’ where it was taken but the interior appears to match the inside of Epstein’s Paris flat, known as the House of Sin
The pair joked about the peer marrying Princess Beatrice with the paedophile financier describing it as ‘incest’, emails show
But despite his apparent jokes, Epstein grew more and more incessant that Mandelson should make a move within the struggling Labour party.
In November 2009, Epstein appeared to urge Mandelson to make a pact with David Miliband, to seize the leadership.
‘Can we put together for you the equivalent of a Putin Medvedev deal. Choose someone who will be seen to be your stand-in, run as a team.. Milibrandelson.
‘The voters would be voting for you?’
Another email later that month showed Epstein checking in on Mandelson, before urging him again to push for a bigger role in Government – potentially to replace Alastair Darling as Chancellor.
‘As a politician I can’t let you walk away from an Olympic Silver medal,’ he wrote on November 18.
Mandelson’s reply seemingly implied that he had floated the idea to Gordon Brown himself, but was not receptive. ‘The PM totally against. I have to accept, I think,’ Mandelson wrote.
But less than two weeks later, Epstein was at it again. On November 29, he appears to once again urging Mandelson to push for a move.
‘Tell gb you see the winds blowing and you are loyal, first second and third it actually is true, i don’t suggest you tell him to step down’ i tell him you are his friend and am frustrated as much as he.’
‘He will immed[iately] push panic button – highly sensitised to movement of my eyebrow,’ Mandelson replied.
Sir Keir Starmer was forced to sack Lord Mandelson from the key role of US ambassador last year after more revelations about Epstein (pictured together in February last year)
Mandelson and Epstein appeared to message each other mocking Brown’s inevitable departure just days before he resigned
In February, as the Labour government began to unravel, Epstein advised Mandelson to distance himself from the PM.
He wrote: ‘He lacks support and you do not want to be seen as anything but a true loyal subject. You would be being duplicitous to make believe there was not a crisis in the future.
‘He knows you, if you go off on vacation and then the hatchets come in, he will know it was you, and you would have lost his and others respect.. YOU are super strong.. tell the truth.’
Mandelson replied: ‘If I continue as now people will say I am one of the few (only) big figures. And I have to deliver a reasonable campaign that only he f**** up. And that I perform well in the campaign itself.’
Epstein then added: ‘You could win if you ran, however, you will be seen as the architect of a losing campaign, your loyalty i believe will not be rewarded, I would consider taking a strong position, then at least when gordon does not follow.
‘You will have been seen to have given great advice that wasn’t taken and therefore he lost. if you merely play his brilliant party speaker, I fear, you will be attached to the eventual smell.’
A few months later, Epstein again messaged Mandelson again urging him to keep his distance.
‘Jess view is that you must be seen as a statesman, and not a personal -man, of gb, supporting gb will be seen as bad form commercially, he has lost the confidence of the public.
‘JPM (JP Morgan) is very concerned that the pound could be the next currency to falter. and big time. Uncertainty is not in your favor.’
The next day, Mandelson and Epstein appeared to message each other mocking Brown’s inevitable departure.
‘Bye, bye smelly?’ Epstein asked, before Mandelson replied: ‘Think has to be bye GB. He has now gone to church!’
On May 10, Mandelson informed Epstein that Brown had finally agreed to step down from government, saying: ‘Finally got him to go today…’ Brown resigned the next day.
