Lady Blair has said she feels “sad” for Peter Mandelson, who has seen his “life fall apart” after his links to Jeffrey Epstein were exposed.
The wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, under whom Mandelson helped orchestrate New Labour, urged critics to remember he is “still a human” despite the ongoing police investigation.
Mandelson was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Speaking to Times Radio, Lady Blair expressed her sympathies with the disgraced former Labour peer, saying: “I feel very sad that it’s come to this.
“I think…when anyone’s life falls apart, we should remember that there’s still a human being. And also, of course, we should also remember that they’re entitled to a fair trial.”
The scandal and public outcry almost cost Keir Starmer his job in No10, and the recent first release of the so-called “Mandelson Files” piled more pressure on the Prime Minister.
The files revealed that the former Labour peer, who was made US ambassador in December 2024, had remained in contact with Epstein after his 2008 conviction, and had even stayed at his New York townhouse the following year.
Documents also show that Sir Keir was warned about Mandelson’s links with Epstein in December 2024, just five months after Labour won power in July.
Lady Blair has said she feels ‘sad’ for Peter Mandelson, who has seen his ‘life fall apart’ amid his links to Jeffrey Epstein
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TIMES RADIO
The topic was described as a “general reputational risk” for the PM, with the dossier reading: “The Cabinet Office holds official records that are likely to be released by the National Archives early next year, which relate to a Tony Blair meeting with Epstein that was facilitated by Mandelson.”
The documents show Mandelson pushed Mr Blair to meet with Epstein, who was a “travelling friend” of then-US President Bill Clinton.
In an email to Jonathan Powell, who was Downing Street chief of staff at the time, Mandelson described Epstein as “young and vibrant”.
“I think TB [Tony Blair] would be interested in meeting Jeffrey, who is also a friend of mine,” Mandelson wrote in the newly-released email.
Recently released files regarding Peter Mandelson appear to show the disgraced peer encouraging former Prime Minister Tony Blair to meet with Jeffrey Epstein
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PA
Lady Blair, however, said she doesn’t feel her husband “has been drawn into this”.
“I mean, the Prime Minister meets millions of people all the time. And in fact, it was, I think, Bill Clinton who asked him to meet with Epstein,” she said.
“One thing I did notice [was] that my name once crops up. I think it might have been…because I happened to be at a women’s event and his girlfriend was there, and he then recounts this,” Lady Blair added.
“It just shows what [Epstein] was doing…he met millions of people and he used them in order to make himself seem important.”
She later criticised the coverage of the Epstein Files in the media, suggesting it has focused on “important men” rather than the extensive list of victims.
“I haven’t read any of the files myself, but I obviously have read the reporting about them,” she said.
“And the first thing I want to say is this is about individual women who were trafficked, who were abused, who were groomed…sometimes what worries me about the Epstein files is it all becomes about the important men.
“This should not be about the important men. This should be about what happened to those women and girls, including the young girls.”