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Peter Mandelson’s advisory company has revoked his voting rights and cut off dividend payments, after his firing as US ambassador amid email revelations about the extent of his relationship with the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Global Counsel, which the Labour peer co-founded in 2010 alongside Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, has moved to alter the designation of Mandelson’s shares in the business.
The change in designation strips him of voting power to influence decisions at Global Counsel, and also prevents him from taking dividends or any gains in the value of his stake, Bloomberg reported.
Global Counsel is selling Mandelson’s stake, which according to filings at Companies House stands at 21%, with the process expected to be concluded in the next two months.
Mandelson, who was a minister in Tony Blair’s Labour government but was forced to resign twice, stepped back from Global Counsel after being appointed by the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, as the ambassador to the US in December.
In January, Mandelson entered into an agreement with Global Counsel to sell his stake in the business over time, having resigned as a director last May.
Global Counsel is now run by Wegg-Prosser, while Archie Norman, the chair of the FTSE 100 retailer Marks & Spencer, is its vice-chair.
Mandelson’s ties to Global Counsel came under scrutiny after the depth and extent of his relationship with Epstein was revealed by the emails, including the suggestion that Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged.
Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein extended to describing him as his “best pal”, and a photograph emerged this month of Mandelson lounging in a white bathrobe with Epstein.
One of Mandelson’s emails to Epstein said: “Your friends stay with you and love you.”
The company, which helps clients “anticipate regulatory and political change”, has advised firms including JP Morgan, Barclays, OpenAI, Anglo American, the fast-fashion retailer Shein and TikTok.
Mandelson’s first departure from the government, in 1998, in the role of trade and industry secretary, concerned an undeclared £373,000 loan he had taken from a wealthy colleague, Geoffrey Robinson, to buy a London house while the pair were in opposition.
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Robinson, a successful businessman, stepped down from the post of paymaster general alongside Mandelson.
Mandelson was brought back as Northern Ireland secretary but in 2001 he submitted another resignation letter when it emerged he had contacted the Home Office in 1998 on behalf of the Indian-born billionaire businessman Srichand Hinduja, who was seeking British citizenship.
Hinduja was a £1m donor to the high-profile Millennium Dome project in Greenwich, south-east London, which Mandelson was overseeing. There was no suggestion Mandelson benefited from Hinduja’s largesse.
Global Counsel declined to comment.
