Lobbying firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson is on the brink of collapse amid fall-out from his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – despite the company cutting ties with the peer
The lobbying firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson is on the brink of collapse after revelations about the peer and paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
London-based advisory business Global Counsel has told staff it is set to enter administration as soon as Friday. It follows the emergence of more historic details linking Lord Mandelson and convicted sex offender Epstein, which are said to be behind a number of high-profile customers choosing to end their relationship with the firm.
Epstein died in New York in 2019, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. According to the Financial Times, chairman Archie Norman and chief executive Rebecca Park told staff that the “Peter Mandelson legacy” had led to the firm’s collapse.
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It is reported that Barclays, Tesco and Klarna were among those to end contracts, while Vodafone put its one under review, after the so-called Epstein files were released by US authorities.
Earlier this month, Global Counsel said it had cut ties with Lord Mandelson and announced the departure of its boss Benjamin Wegg-Prosser. It stressed that Lord Mandelson no longer had any shareholding, role or association with the company and no influence over the firm.
Nevertheless, it is understood that the business continued to come under pressure from his legacy. Lord Mandelson co-founded the firm with Mr Wegg-Prosser in 2010 after Labour lost the general election. He stepped down from its board about two years ago.
Mr Wegg-Prosser was previously a political adviser and director of strategic communications under former prime minister Tony Blair, before going on to work as a director at a Russian media firm. Global Counsel has worked with a roster of clients including Palantir, GSK, Vodafone, OpenAI, TikTok and the English Premier League.
The latest tranche of documents in the Epstein files appear to show Lord Mandelson passing potentially market-sensitive information to the financier in 2009, while he was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government.
The London and Wiltshire homes of the former politician and US ambassador have been searched by officers as part of the Metropolitan Police’s probe into alleged misconduct in public office.
Sir Keir Starmer faced a period of political turmoil as a result of the controversies. He insisted that “none of us knew the depth of the darkness” of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein, and apologised for believing his “lies”.
