Lord Peter Mandelson demanded £547,000 as compensation for his sacking as UK ambassador to the US last September, according to the first tranche of documents related to the disgraced peer’s appointment.
The documents, released on Wednesday, show Mandelson asked for his full salary to be paid out after he was sacked over, his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.
“Negotiations began with a request by the individual to pay out the remainder of the 4-year salary costs of the fixed term appointment. This would have amounted to £547,201,” the documents showed.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government eventually signed off £34,670 of discretionary payments on Mandelson’s departure, on top of the £40,329 he was legally entitled to. That made a total of almost £75,000.
Ministers, advisers and civil servants have for weeks been bracing for the political fallout from the papers, which they fear could cause severe embarrassment for Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
The prime minister agreed to release the papers in response to questions about Mandelson’s vetting in 2024 and what was known about his links to Epstein.
However, only a small proportion of the documents — expected to run into the tens of thousands overall — was published on Wednesday afternoon.
Some papers are being held back from public view while Mandelson — who has insisted that he has not acted in any way criminally and was not motivated by financial gain — is investigated by the police in order to avoid prejudicing the investigation.