Tony Blair met Jeffrey Epstein in No 10, documents reveal

Sir Tony Blair met Jeffrey Epstein in Downing Street while he was prime minister after a recommendation by Peter Mandelson, newly released papers from the National Archives show.

Epstein visited Blair on 14 May 2002, after the suggestion by Lord Mandelson to the prime minister’s then chief of staff, Jonathan Powell. Mandelson was sacked as US ambassador in September after new information emerged about how close he was to the convicted sex offender.

At the time of the recommendation, Mandelson was a backbench Labour MP but still served as a trusted ally to Blair. Just over a year earlier he had resigned from government a second time amid controversy. He had described Epstein to Powell as “safe” and a “friend” in an email before the meeting. Powell is now Keir Starmer’s national security adviser. His role has been questioned in the collapse of a Chinese spying case.