Who is Peter Mandelson, the New Labour architect engulfed in the Epstein scandal

Mandelson has so far denied having acted for profit, but the documents seem to nail him. And he has also always strenuously denied that he had any knowledge of Epstein's sexual perversions, even though he had been a guest in his home in New York when the financier was in prison, convicted of paedophilia for luring 14-year-old girls into prostitution, and had supported and encouraged him during his imprisonment.

Whatever the outcome of the investigation, the extraordinary career of Mandelson, nicknamed 'the prince of darkness' for his Machiavellian approach to politics, seems to be over. So far he had managed to survive every scandal, reinventing himself and somehow managing to be seen as indispensable by several prime ministers.

His upward trajectory had begun in the 1980s, when after studying at Oxford as the Labour Party's Head of Communications, he had 'reinvented' the party by taking it to more centrist positions.

Considered the great director of 'New Labour', in 1994 he had played a decisive role in getting Tony Blair elected party leader and in 1997 had managed to lead the party to election victory.

Appointed Minister of Trade and Industry by a grateful prime minister, Mandelson had however been forced to resign as early as 1998, for failing to declare a £373,000 loan that Geoffrey Robinson, another Labour minister, had given him to buy a house.

His political purgatory had not lasted long: back in 1999 he was appointed minister responsible for Northern Ireland.

In 2001 another scandal led to his resignation: he had used his position to lobby the Home Office to facilitate the granting of British citizenship to Srichand Hinduja, an Indian billionaire, in exchange for a £1 million donation to the Labour project.

Mandelson had also risen from the ashes: in 2004 he was appointed EU Trade Commissioner, a post he had performed with great competence.

In the wake of his success in Brussels, he had been recalled by Gordon Brown, who had become premier after Blair but was declining in popularity and struggling with the great financial crisis.

If the police allegations are confirmed, instead of saving the party and the British economy over the years Mandelson had passed on confidential information to Epstein.

After the Labour Party's election defeat, Mandelson had founded a lobbying firm, Global Counsel, taking advantage of the many high-ranking connections he had accumulated over the years.

The company closed its doors in recent days, as the Epstein-related scandal had led to a stampede of customers.

In 2024 he had run for chancellor of Oxford University, but was preferred to former Conservative leader William Hague.

Mandelson had, however, been able to console himself with the post of ambassador to Washington, given to him by the unwary Keir Starmer.

The PM had ignored the warnings of many about his troubled past and close relationship with Epstein, deciding that his experience in trade negotiations as EU Commissioner would be invaluable in the delicate negotiations with the unpredictable US President Donald Trump.

For a few months, everything had worked out and Mandelson, a master of networking, had managed to win a good relationship with the White House. Revelations about how close and lasting his friendship with Epstein had been forced Starmer to fire him on the spot and recall him from Washington.

Despite this, in the following months Mandelson tried to reinvent himself again as a political commentator, giving advice to the government and insisting that he had no knowledge of Epstein's activities.

Until the new Epstein Files documents led to the police investigation for abuse of office and his arrest.

The common thread of Mandelson's life and scandals seems to be an irrepressible desire to be close to the rich and powerful, and a total lack of moral sense. Intelligent, brilliant, charismatic, the Labour Party veteran has been compared by a colleague to Icarus: only instead of getting too close to the sun Mandelson has been burnt by his love of money and the power money can give.