Lord Peter Mandelson faces losing his $70,000 EU pension due to an inquiry into his links with Jeffrey Epstein. Photo / Getty Images
Britain’s Lord Peter Mandelson faces losing his EU pension as a result of a fresh inquiry into his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
The European Commission has asked its anti-fraud office to look into whether the disgraced peer tipped off the paedophile about a multibillion-euro bailout to save the currency in 2010.
If the former Labour Cabinet minister is found guilty of wrongdoing, he could be stripped of the £31,000 ($70,000)/year pension he is entitled to for serving as EU commissioner for trade between 2004 and 2008.
The commission says the index-linked payments are linked to good behaviour clauses, which apply “both during and after” an individual’s term of office.
A spokesman said its officials had asked the European Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf) to look into the confidential documents released as part of the Epstein files earlier this month.
They said: “Given the circumstances, and the significant amount of documents made available publicly, the European Commission also asked Olaf on February 18 to look into the matter.
“Pending the ongoing assessment, we are not in a position to comment further.”
Lord Mandelson was nominated as European trade commissioner by Sir Tony Blair in 2004 and stayed in the role for four years, until he was made business secretary by Gordon Brown in 2008.
The peer has been entitled to the index-linked payments from the European job since turning 65 in 2018. While Olaf can investigate and make recommendations to the commission, they are not legally binding.
There have been mounting calls for Lord Mandelson to lose his pension if investigators find he broke EU rules.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, wrote to Olaf earlier this month to demand an inquiry, saying Mandelson’s conduct was “arguably sufficiently egregious for him to forfeit his pension”.
Nick Aiossa, of anti-corruption group Transparency International, said that if misconduct was found, “Mandelson must be stripped of his commissioner’s pension”.
An EU official told the Telegraph that records of any emails sent from Mandelson’s official EU accounts had probably long since been erased, making any investigation into potential misconduct difficult.
When he was trade commissioner, transparency rules did not require senior officials to make records of their meetings public.
However, emails published as part of the Epstein files appear to show that Mandelson was sharing confidential information with Epstein while serving as business secretary.
One email appeared to show Lord Mandelson gave the late paedophile advance notice of the EU’s €500b ($987b) bailout to Greece, which was agreed by European finance ministers in the early hours of May 10, 2010.
A commission insider described the possibility of sanctioning Lord Mandelson’s pension as a “worst-case scenario” of any investigation.
If any wrongdoing is found, he will be referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which will decide on his punishment.
A source said judges could decide to entirely strip Lord Mandelson of his pension or partially withhold it.
Officials could also refer him to police forces across the bloc’s 27 member states should any criminal activity be unearthed.
But he could also receive only a simple written warning about his conduct, which carries no consequences.
Olaf has been asked to sift through tens of thousands of documents published by the US Department of Justice to ascertain whether any of the publications reveal any wrongdoing during his years in Brussels. The anti-fraud watchdog is then expected to extend its probe to documents still held by the commission.
The release of the emails in the Epstein files led to Lord Mandelson’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office earlier this week.
The Met was forced to apologise to Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, the Lord Speaker, for mistakenly telling Lord Mandelson’s lawyers that he had tipped them off about the disgraced peer’s alleged plan to flee to the British Virgin Islands.
In fact, it was Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, who had contacted officers with the information which led to Lord Mandelson being detained on Monday (local time).
The arrest was a fresh blow to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who has been criticised for appointing Mandelson as US ambassador despite knowing about his links to Epstein.
Downing Street has promised to release government documents relating to the decision to appoint him, although it wants those related to national security to be held back.
On Wednesday night, it was confirmed that Parliament’s intelligence and scrutiny committee (ISC) would decide which files would be published, with Starmer agreeing he could not overrule them.
Lord Beamish, its chairman, said it was “critical to the integrity of the process” that his committee had the final say.
He added: “Officials have now confirmed in writing to the committee that the decision as to whether material referred to the ISC is published is for the committee alone.
“The Prime Minister – or anyone else in Government – will not be able to overrule the committee’s decision to publish material that has been referred to it.”
Lord Mandelson has already resigned from the Labour Party and stepped down from the House of Lords over the Epstein scandal.
However, he remains a peer. Starmer has pledged to bring in a law to strip him of the title.
Lord Mandelson’s lawyers did not respond to the Telegraph’s request for comment.
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