Lady Blair has told Peter Mandelson’s critics that the disgraced Labour peer is “still human” and is “entitled to a fair trial” over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
The wife of former prime minister Tony Blair also indicated that she felt sorry for Lord Mandelson over the scandal, saying she found it “very sad” that he had seen his life “fall apart” over his connections to the paedophile financier.
Speaking to Times Radio, Lady Blair was asked if she felt betrayed by Lord Mandelson, who was a close family friend and one of the New Labour architects, alongside her husband.
She said: “I feel very sad that it’s come to this. I think… when anyone’s life falls apart, we should remember that there’s still a human being. And also, of course, we should also remember that they’re entitled to a fair trial.”
She added: “In the media, and particularly today with social media, too, many people forget that the people that they’re talking about are human beings with feelings and can be hurt.”
Lord Mandelson, who was sacked as US ambassador last year over the revelations, was instrumental in Mr Blair’s career. Documents reveal that he arranged a meeting between Sir Tony and Epstein when the former was still prime minister.
But Lady Blair said she did not think her husband had been “drawn” into the Epstein controversy.
“The prime minister meets millions of people all the time, and actually, I think it was Bill Clinton who asked him to meet Epstein,” she said.
She said that her own name had “cropped up” in the Epstein files because “I happened to be at a women’s event and his girlfriend was there”. She added: “It just shows what he was doing, he was always ‘trying to show how influential I am because I know all of these people.’”
Lord Mandelson was arrested on 23 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, having been accused of passing sensitive information to Epstein during his time as business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government.
He was subsequently bailed, but later released from his bail conditions, although he remains under investigation.
Days earlier, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York and the King’s disgraced brother, was also arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office after allegations that he had shared sensitive information with Epstein while serving as a UK trade envoy.
On Friday, a photo emerged showing Lord Mandelson with Epstein and the former prince sitting around a table in bathrobes, drinking from mugs printed with the US flag. It is the first known picture showing the three together and was reportedly taken between 1999 and 2000, although no exact date has been given. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing in the photo.
The photo came out of a tranche of documents released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of the Epstein files.
Both men feature a number of times in the files. Images of Lord Mandelson receiving a foot massage and others of him standing in his underwear have been published by the DOJ.
Both Andrew and Lord Mandelson have denied any wrongdoing over their association with Epstein.
