Labour's Dark Lord urged to return his payoff: Minister says the £55,000 golden goodbye Mandelson received when he was sacked as US ambssador should be donated to charity
Ministers are under pressure to claw back a £50,000 payoff handed to Peter Mandelson when he was sacked as US ambassador over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden appealed on Sunday to Mandelson to give up the golden goodbye, which he was handed despite being sacked last year after further revelations about his friendship with the notorious paedophile were published.
But Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said ministers had a duty to taxpayers to pursue the money rather than relying on him to do the right thing.
She said: ‘A five-figure taxpayer funded payout for Lord Mandelson is a disgusting betrayal of Epstein’s victims. Once again it raises very serious questions about the Prime Minister’s judgment and his disgraced chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.
‘The Government must ensure Mandelson’s golden goodbye is recovered in full.’
Downing Street has refused to comment on the size of Mandelson’s payoff or whether action is being taken to claw it back. A No 10 spokesman described it as a ‘HR matter’.
But the Foreign Office indicated that he had been paid off, with a spokesman saying his employment was terminated last September ‘in accordance with legal advice and the terms and conditions of his employment’.
The spokesman added: ‘As we have consistently said to Parliament, normal civil service HR processes were followed.
Ministers are under pressure to claw back a £50,000 payoff handed to Peter Mandelson when he was sacked as US ambassador over his links to Jeffrey Epstein (Pictured: June 18, 2025)
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden appealed on Sunday to Mandelson to give up the golden goodbye (Pictured: McFadden during an appearance on the BBC on February 8, 2026)
‘A review has been instigated in light of further information that has now been revealed and the ongoing police investigation.’
The Foreign Office has refused to say how much of taxpayers’ money Mandelson was given when he was sacked last year.
He is thought to have received a payment of three months’ salary. The former US ambassador was reportedly employed on a civil service pay band of between £155,000 and £220,000, suggesting he received a payoff of between £38,750 and £55,000.
The exact figures are likely to be released in the coming weeks after MPs voted last week to demand the release of tens of thousands of documents relating to his appointment and employment.
A Government source told The Sunday Times that Mandelson had initially asked for a ‘much greater sum’ after being sacked just seven months into a four-year contract.
Asked whether Mandelson should return the payoff, Mr McFadden yesterday told Sky News: ‘I think he probably should, yes. Either of those, either give it back or give it to a charity. Perhaps one involving violence against women and girls.
‘I think taking a payoff in these circumstances, I don’t think the public will think much of that.’
A No 10 source echoed the comments, saying: ‘Given what we know now, Mandelson should either pay the money back or give it to a charity to support victims.’
Mandelson was appointed as US ambassador despite reports in the public domain that he had maintained his friendship with Epstein and even stayed in his New York mansion while the paedophile was in prison.
He was sacked in September following the release of emails showing he urged the depraved financier to fight his conviction for child sex offences.
