Gordon Brown says Mandelson's leaks to Epstein were a financial crime

Gordon Brown tried to hammer a final nail in the coffin of Peter Mandelson's public reputation yesterday by describing his secret email contacts with Jeffrey Epstein as a 'crime'.

Mr Brown – who has never forgiven Mandelson for backing Tony Blair as leader in 1994 – timed his comments to coincide with the conclusion of the police search of Mandelson's homes, over allegations that he leaked sensitive government information to the billionaire paedophile.

The former Prime Minister said he felt 'shocked, sad, angry betrayed, let down' over Mandelson's apparent leak of market-sensitive information to Epstein while he was Business Secretary in Mr Brown's government.

It was 'a betrayal of everything we stand for as a country', Mr Brown added.

He also expressed anger at the fact that in September – the day before Mandelson was removed as the UK's ambassador to the US by Sir Keir Starmer – he had asked Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald to investigate Epstein's potential involvement in the sale of Royal Bank of Scotland assets to JP Morgan, after spotting a reference in a news report about the Epstein files, only to be told that no records existed.

Mr Brown, who brought Mandelson back into the Cabinet during the 2008 financial crisis, said: 'I see it as a financial crime.

'This was financially secret information, it meant Britain was at risk because of that, the currency was at risk, some of the trading that would happen would be speculative as a result of that, and there's no doubt that huge commercial damage could have been done and perhaps was done.'

Mr Brown also demanded 'constitutional reform' to clean up corruption in politics, and 'let in the light and send the princes of darkness [one of Mandelson's Westminster nicknames] on their way'. 

However, he also moved to shore up Sir Keir – who is facing intense pressure from his MPs over his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador, despite his known links to Epstein – by saying the Labour leader had been misled.

He said: 'I know the man. In other prime ministers, you've been questioning their integrity.

'You've been questioning whether they are guilty of some unquestionable mistakes in terms of their personal finances and their personal lobbying.

'This is not the case for Keir Starmer. I can look in his eyes and see that he is a man of integrity.' He added: 'There is a systematic failure to do proper vetting.

'There should have been public hearings so that people could ask the questions of Mandelson. 

'He [Starmer] has clearly said it was the wrong decision. Just as I made a mistake he made a mistake.'

Mr Brown's comments came as Mandelson was visited at his north London home yesterday by a defence barrister who specialises in white-collar crime.

Adrian Darbishire KC was seen entering the peer's £12million home near Regent's Park yesterday, one of two addresses raided on Friday night by police investigating the claims of misconduct in public office.

Officers were also seen fetching folded cardboard boxes and bags to collect evidence from his rented farmhouse in Wiltshire.

An interview published in The Times yesterday, conducted before the police investigation, carried pictures of Mandelson in the Wiltshire property, standing by his Aga oven, clad in jeans, white socks and black slip-on shoes.

He told the paper that his sacking as ambassador had been like a '5.30 am drive-by shooting... as a result of historical emails of which I have no memory and no record'.

He added: 'It felt like being killed without actually dying... I'm navigating the experience because I have really good friends who are helping me do so, starting with Reinaldo [his husband] more than anyone else.'

Asked about Epstein's motives, Mandelson said they were 'probably mixed', but that he had also 'provided guidance to help me navigate out of the world of politics and into the world of commerce and finance'.

He added: 'Perhaps he wanted to be a mentor and I was naive in regarding him as a good-faith actor. There was no reason to shun his advice, but I was too trusting.'

Mr Darbishire specialises in defending professionals facing regulatory and criminal investigation as a result of their conduct at work. 

His profession profile states he is 'a superb tactician and a powerfully persuasive advocate' who 'is adept at assessing the best approach for a case and appealing to clients as they face the most difficult period of their career'.

He arrived shortly after the Metropolitan Police said that the investigation into Mandelson was 'complex' and would require a 'significant amount of further evidence gathering and analysis'.

In order to charge Mandelson with misconduct in public office, prosecutors would have to prove he was guilty of 'wilful neglect or misconduct', amounting to an 'abuse of the public's trust' without 'reasonable excuse or justification'.

Dept Asst Commissioner Hayley Sewart of the Metropolitan Police said: 'The searches were related to an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office offences, involving a 72-year-old man. He has not been arrested and inquiries are ongoing.'

Mandelson's position is understood to be that he has not acted in any way criminally and was not motivated by financial gain.

Political feud that goes back to the dawn of New Labour  

By Brendan Carlin 

You might forgive Gordon Brown for delivering his damning verdict on Peter Mandelson yesterday with a certain vengeful relish.

For him, the double-dealing and betrayal of the Prince of Darkness began more than 30 years ago at the very dawn of New Labour. 

Convinced that Mandelson was backing him over Tony Blair for the party leadership in 1994, Mr Brown was taken aback to discover he had in fact plumped for 'Tony'.

Worse than that, the Brown camp apparently believed that Mandelson was actively briefing against Mr Brown. 

From then until virtually the 2005 general election, Mr Brown's allies saw Mandelson as a key part of the Blairite spin machine which projected the then Chancellor as unfit to succeed Blair.

The permafrost thawed in the run-up to that election after Mr Brown was brought in to help run the campaign and so had to deal with Mandelson directly. 

It thawed further in 2008 when a beleaguered Mr Brown, then PM, surprisingly made Mandelson Business Secretary with a seat in the Lords.

The peer then advised his one-time foe on how to win the 2010 election – while, Brown allies believe, secretly telling others the PM had to go.