The Mandelson affair shows we've all forgotten the lessons of #MeToo

The appointment of the ‘Prince of Darkness’ to the top British job in Washington should have raised more questions than it did at the time. Peter Mandelson has a smooth reputation, but trouble sticks to him. Now the prime minister’s very future is at stake because of Mandelson’s past.

Keir Starmer’s judgement is being questioned and his team has tried to distract with detail, focussing on “who knew what when” about the Labour grandee’s bromance with the sleazeball multimillionaire, and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

But the fact of Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to America, and the general acceptance of it at the time, reflects badly on many people, not just Starmer. 

When it was announced in late 2024, few were particularly exercised by the Epstein link. It was like #MeToo never happened. Any controversy hinged on Mandelson’s previous criticism of the newly re-elected Trump, who he had called a white nationalist and racist.

Chris LaCivita, co-manager for Donald Trump’s campaign, called Mandelson an “absolute moron” after the appointment. Not a great start, but there was a strong belief the man who gained that Prince of Darkness moniker during the Blair years would find a way through, which he did, by grovelling and flattery.

There were concerns in the media that “Mandelson’s mishaps” – resignations, controversies, lobbying ties – might complicate his ability to serve. The Epstein links were discussed, but rarely foregrounded. When pressed by the Financial Times, the new ambassador expressed cursory regret at the friendship before descending into undiplomatic language: “I’m not going to go into this. It’s an FT obsession and frankly you can all f*** off. OK?”

That response suggests more than irritation. It indicates fear. Mandelson is often compared to a wily old fox, but if a fox is cornered, it attacks. 

It helps to take the long view and focus on facts. Mandelson was appointed Britain’s ambassador to Washington five years after his “best pal” died in a prison cell, accused of monstrous sexual abuse of teenage girls. While that “best pal” description only emerged with Epstein’s 50th “birthday book” this year, their long friendship was well documented.

It was reported in a Channel Four Dispatches programme in 2019, which documented the fact the association continued after Epstein’s 2008 conviction. The financier’s links with Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Trump grabbed more attention, but his enduring friendship with the man he affectionately called “Petie” was no secret.

So, we must ask why Mandelson’s association with a paedophile didn’t provoke greater outrage in 2024. Only a few years before, in the wake of #MeToo, Epstein’s crimes had shocked and disgusted the world. Had we forgotten?

Much public knowledge comes from the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell and that notorious picture of her with Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre. But the scale of abuse was exposed earlier, in 2018, by Miami Herald reporter Julie K Brown and later in Netflix’s Filthy Rich.

They told of Epstein’s pyramid scheme of exploitation in Palm Beach. Poor schoolgirls were lured with cash for “massages” then pressured to recruit their friends. Police uncovered many victims. Yet Epstein used money and influence to secure a lenient plea deal in 2008. Prosecutors even described his victims as “child prostitutes from difficult backgrounds”. But they were children.

Epstein pleaded guilty to procurement of a minor in 2008. Mandelson, worldly wise, would have understood what that meant: a rich man buying a child’s body. He apparently thought it didn’t matter. 

If he did not take the abuse of working-class children seriously in the noughties, he was not alone. That time also saw the start of the grooming or rape gangs scandal in the north of England. 

Complacency around Rotherham was widespread, but it was not universal. As in Florida, there were decent people who understood what was happening. Ann Cryer MP raised alarms about grooming gangs as early as 2002. Detective Constable Maggie Oliver tried to do the same. But, just like Palm Beach, their warnings were swept aside by more senior officials. Victims were written off as “bad kids” making “lifestyle choices”. While UK prosecutions took place by 2014, the abuse continued.

In America it was only after #MeToo in 2018 that real attention was paid. It meant that Brown on the Miami Herald was given space for an investigation into events 10 years earlier and prosecuting authorities finally took action against Epstein.

In this country too, the backlash was fierce, with Prince Andrew effectively cancelled, albeit still enjoying his royal lifestyle. 

So why, just a few years after #MeToo, after the awful documentary testimony of those poor girls, was Mandelson elevated to the most prestigious diplomatic posting in the world? It seems where women are concerned, outrage has a time limit. 

Starmer is rightly blamed for appointing Mandelson, but blame is not his alone. #MeToo helped expose Epstein, but did it bring real justice? We cheered, hashtagged, demanded accountability, then moved on. Sadly, for victims like the late Virginia Giuffre, that was not an option.