For those seeking to understand Peter Mandelson’s media strategy as he navigates the greatest crisis of a crisis-strewn life, the latest instalment of the Jeffrey Epstein files may offer a steer.
“You and your lawyers must start setting down the irrefutable facts, build a narrative and fight back,” Mandelson advised the disgraced financier in May 2011, according to the emails released by the US Department of Justice.
He couldn’t think of a London public relations person he liked – “truthfully no one springs to mind” – but then Mandelson has always trusted in his own ability to spin his way out of trouble.
However, he thought Epstein should tool up with a libel lawyer, and he suggested a notably aggressive one, the emails suggest.
Mandelson’s approach to the last 72 hours looks awfully familiar – and notably successful, with the headlines now dominated by what appears to have been a police foul-up.
On Monday afternoon, Mandelson was arrested at his Regent’s Park home on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The 72-year-old, who has denied any wrongdoing and insisted he was not motivated by financial gain, did not shield his face as he was walked to the police car from his front door.
The media had already been informed two weeks previously that any queries about him should be directed to Mishcon de Reya, a firm of lawyers specialising in defamation that has a reputation for a pugnacious approach to reputation management.
Mandelson was released in the early hours of Tuesday morning and again he made no effort to hide from the cameras outside his home.
Once inside, he got to work, pinging off a WhatsApp message to at least one contact at 4am.
“Despite previous agreements between police and the legal team over a voluntary interview in early March, police arrested me because they claimed the lord speaker received information that I was about to flee to the British Virgin Islands and take up permanent residence abroad, leaving Reinaldo, my family home and Jock behind me,” Mandelson reportedly wrote, with reference to his husband and dog.
“I need hardly say, complete fiction. The police were told only today that they had to improvise an arrest. The question is who or what is behind this?”
The police, it seemed, had breached their protocols by informing Mandelson’s lawyers as to the source of the tipoff that led to his arrest.
A spokesperson for Mishcon de Reya put out a statement soon after saying they had asked the police for “the evidence relied upon to justify the arrest”, adding: “Peter Mandelson’s overriding priority is to cooperate with the police investigation, as he has done throughout this process, and to clear his name”. They also firmly denied that Mandelson presented a flight risk.
It later transpired that it was not the lord speaker, Michael Forsyth, who had tipped off to the police but Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the Commons. “I felt it was relevant I pass this on to the Metropolitan police in good faith, as is my duty and responsibility,” Hoyle told MPs on Wednesday morning. The police subsequently apologised to Hoyle for their indiscretion.
Observing the peculiar turn of events, one senior figure in the crisis communications industry said Mandelson’s instruction of Mishcon de Reya and his lack of effort to hide himself away sent a message. “It is one of dominance, and that’s always been the case with Peter,” they said. “It is a signal to everyone, the prime minster included, that he is fighting his corner.”
James Lyons, who was Keir Starmer’s director of strategic communications for a year until his resignation last September, said Mandelson would have been aware of the speculation about the peculiar timing of the arrest. It had come late in the afternoon, offering little time for officers to interrogate him when taking into account the need to give him eight hours of sleep and release him within 24 hours.
“Texting friends details of your arrest at 4am is an unorthodox approach to crisis communications and not one I would recommend,” Lyons said. “But I can see the logic for Peter Mandelson to get the information out there on his own terms.
“There was already huge speculation about the police’s unprecedented decision to arrest him so publicly. It was only a matter of time before the claims that the peer was a flight risk – however reputable – became public. In these situations you should always tell it yourself and tell it first.”
The crisis PR consultant Mark Borkowski said the instruction of Mishcon de Reya was a sign that Mandelson believed that “attack was the best form of defence”. He suggested the police would be under pressure over what now appeared to have been a “performative arrest”.
Up until the search of Mandelson’s homes in early February, the peer had dealt with media queries personally. The change of approach did carry risks, Lyons said, and certainly the continued drama was a thorn in the side of Starmer’s government as it sought to reset.
“It’s understandable why the peer wants to present himself as the victim of an injustice – and mentioning his desire to stay with his husband and dog was a nice human touch,” he said. “But the danger is, given all that has come out, this approach only serves to anger the police while further alienating the public. I’m sure he will be at pains to present himself as cooperating fully going forward.”
