Peter Mandelson’s £75,000 payout after sacking was ‘value for money’ – minister

The £75,000 taxpayer-funded payout Lord Peter Mandelson received after being sacked as ambassador to Washington was “value for money”, a minister has argued.

The sum awarded to the disgraced peer after his dismissal over his ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was revealed in the first set of UK Government documents published on Wednesday.

Nick Thomas-Symonds expressed “moral outrage” over the payment, and called for the money to be donated to a victims’ charity.

But he sought to defend the amount by pointing out that Lord Mandelson asked for his contract to be paid out in full, totalling more than £500,000.

Cabinet Office minister Mr Thomas-Symonds told Sky News on Thursday: “You can look at the documents, you can see on a value for money basis why that decision was made. There was an original request for £547,000 that was negotiated down to £75,000.”

There was a risk of an employment tribunal, he said, although Lord Mandelson has reportedly denied intending to go down that route after his September 2025 sacking.

Mr Thomas-Symonds continued: “But from a moral point of view, it is incredibly difficult to even think that that money is still being retained.

“So what I would say is, do the decent thing, do the honourable thing, donate that money to charity. And I would suggest perhaps a charity supporting victims might be appropriate.”

A day after the publication of the files, Sir Keir Starmer is facing fresh questions about his decision to give Lord Mandelson the top diplomatic job after it emerged he had been warned of a “general reputational risk” and senior officials raised concerns about the appointment.

The Prime Minister is expected to speak to journalists during a visit to Belfast on Thursday, his first public appearance since the release of the first tranche of papers relating to the peer.

Sir Keir has insisted Lord Mandelson “lied repeatedly” to Downing Street about his relationship with Epstein, before and during his tenure as ambassador.

But papers published on Wednesday showed a due diligence document drawn up by the Cabinet Office in December 2024 over the appointment noted a series of reports detailing his links with the convicted sex offender.

Questions

Starmer ally Mr Thomas-Symonds admitted the due diligence report raised “serious questions”.

“The Prime Minister then did put those questions to Lord Mandelson. The Prime Minister has said he was misled. He deeply regrets believing the reassurances he was given.

“He has apologised for believing what was said to him by Peter Mandelson.”

When it was put to him that saying sorry for being lied to, and not for advancing the recruitment despite the warnings, did not amount to much of an apology, Mr Thomas-Symonds insisted “it is heartfelt”.

The files also showed national security adviser Jonathan Powell believed the process for installing Lord Mandelson in the job was “weirdly rushed”.

The 31 files released by the UK Government on Wednesday did not include correspondence between No 10 and Lord Mandelson, in which a number of follow-up questions were asked about his relationship with Epstein.

Investigation

Mr Thomas-Symonds declined to be drawn on whether No 10’s three follow-up questions were adequate, given that exchange remains subject to the Metropolitan Police’s ongoing investigation into the peer over allegations of misconduct in public office.

The Labour veteran was arrested on February 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, having been accused of passing sensitive information on to Epstein during his time as business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government.

He was subsequently bailed, but later released from his bail conditions, although he remains under investigation.

The files appeared to show that Lord Mandelson’s departure from Washington after his sacking was pushed back because of his dog, with an email from the peer referring to a “delay in obtaining Jock’s veterinary certification”.

Mr Thomas-Symonds said this was in line with “the treatment that you would receive when you are dismissed” as a senior civil servant.

Resignation 

Tory shadow Home Office minister Matt Vickers said Sir Keir “definitely should go” over the affair.

He told Sky News: “It is a complete and utter failure of judgment on the part of the Prime Minister.

“Remember when this thing broke, he told us that if he knew then what he knew now, he wouldn’t have made that appointment.

“Anybody reading those files knows he knew more than enough not to make this appointment. His own National Security Adviser warned him about it. He knew that the man who he chose to appoint this country’s most prestigious diplomatic position had links to the worst, most evil paedophile ever to walk the earth. It’s unacceptable.”