1985 After a brief stint as a Labour councillor in Lambeth from 1979 to 1982, Mandelson stood down and worked as a television producer. But, in 1985, he returned to politics after being appointed Labour’s director of communications by Neil Kinnock.
Mandelson In March 1990 he resigned from his role after he was selected as the Labour candidate for Hartlepool, which was a safe seat at the time.
1990–1991 conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States.
April 1992 Mandelson is elected to parliament as the MP for Hartlepool at the 1992 general election, which Labour loses. While in the House of Commons, he forms friendships with Blair and Gordon Brown.
May 1994 After Labour leader John Smith unexpectedly dies, Mandelson backs Blair to lead the party, which caused a rift between himself and Brown. Blair wins the leadership contest against John Prescott and Margaret Beckett.
Convinced that there was no political room for workerism at the end of the 20th century, Mandelson trusted a young Tony Blair and was his court advisor during the nineties, waiting for the administration of John Major fell due to maturity after seventeen uninterrupted years of Conservative Party governments.
All of this would have been impossible without Mandelson, who led the successful 1997 election campaign and later held the position of “minister without portfolio,” basically responsible for coordinating all members of the government and assisting the prime minister in the way a chief of staff would do in the United States.(2)
May 1997 After Labour’s landslide victory at the 1997 general election, Mandelson, who had been one of Blair’s most loyal supporters, was appointed as minister without portfolio.
July 1998 Mandelson is promoted to trade and industry secretary under Blair’s first cabinet reshuffle. October 1998 Columnist Matthew Parris reveals that Mandelson is gay during a live broadcast of Newsnight on BBC Two. Details about his Brazilian partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, are soon published by the media.
December 1998 Mandelson is forced to resign as trade and industry secretary after details come to light about an undeclared, interest-free loan of £373,000 from his ministerial colleague Geoffrey Robinson to buy a home in Notting Hill. At the time, Robinson’s business dealings were being investigated by Mandelson’s own department.
October 1999 After less than a year of political exile, Mandelson returns to government as Northern Ireland secretary.
January 2001 Mandelson is forced to resign for a second time amid allegations that he attempted to help the Hinduja brothers with their application for British citizenship. They had made a £1m donation to the Millennium Dome, which Mandelson oversaw in his earlier minister without portfolio role
June 2001 Mandelson is re-elected as Hartlepool MP, where, at the election count, he declared himself “a fighter, not a quitter”.
The 9/11 attacks on September 11, 2001
In 2001 an international coalition led by the USA invaded Afghanistan to destroy terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda when the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden. British forces went in alongside US troops. At the height of the conflict there were more than 130,000 NATO troops on the ground. By July 2021, nearly all NATO countries had fully withdrawn.
Sir Tony Blair met Jeffrey Epstein in Downing Street while he was prime minister after a recommendation by Peter Mandelson, newly released papers from the National Archives show. Epstein visited Blair on 14 May 2002, after the suggestion by Lord Mandelson
2003–2011 war after an American-led invasion
November 2004 After nearly a decade in parliament, Mandelson resigns his Hartlepool seat to take up the position of EU trade commissioner.
October 2008 Mandelson returns to mainstream politics after being appointed business secretary by the then-prime minister Brown, an appointment made possible by being appointed to the House of Lords. After the recent revelations about Mandelson’s emails with Epstein, including allegations he leaked market sensitive information, Brown expressed his deep regret at the appointment.
The 2008 financial crash, also known as the global financial crisis, was primarily caused by the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble and the subsequent subprime mortgage crisis, leading to widespread bank failures and a severe global recession. It peaked with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, triggering panic in financial markets worldwide.
2010 Mandelson’s ministerial career comes to an end after Labour loses the 2010 general election. Ed Miliband was asked at a leadership hustings whether there was a place for him in his shadow cabinet. “All of us believe in dignity in retirement,” he replied. In November, he founds a policy consultancy, Global Counsel, with Benjamin Wegg-Prosser. Its past clients have included the Qatari Free Zones Authority, the Chinese fast-fashion brand Shein and social media platform TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
Muammar Gaddafi was killed on October 20, 2011, during the First Libyan Civil War after being captured by National Transitional Council forces in Sirte, Libya
Tony Blair is facing fresh questions over his role as a Middle East peace envoy after claims that he has used the position to promote lucrative business deals for clients of an investment bank that pays him £2million a year. As a representative of the Quartet –the UN, the EU, the U.S. and Russia – the former prime minister is tasked with fostering peace between Israel and Palestine.
December 2024 Mandelson is appointed US ambassador by Keir Starmer. He had been a reportedly important part of the Starmer operation and maintained a particularly close relationship with his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
September 2025 After a batch of Epstein files are released, which showed emails from Mandelson to Epstein suggesting his 2008 conviction for soliciting a child for prostitution was wrongful and should be challenged, he was sacked as ambassador to the US.
Feb 4 2026 Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, shot dead on Tuesday, appealed to ‘a nostalgia for a past that is remembered as more secure
February 2026 This year more files were released that revealed Mandelson was passing information to the convicted sex offender while he was business secretary, including market-sensitive information that sparked the criminal investigation. The news led to McSweeney quitting his role for advising the prime minister to appoint Mandelson. Global Council entered administration and on Monday Mandelson was arrested.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has recently faced increased public scrutiny surrounding his past dealings with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and the allegations by the late Virginia Giuffre.
Here is how Andrew’s friendship with Epstein and the financier’s sex trafficker girlfriend Maxwell unfolded:
– 1990s
Andrew previously told BBC Newsnight he first met Epstein through ‘his girlfriend back in 1999’.
Andrew. Pic: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
In March 2011, the prince’s then-private secretary Alastair Watson, who spent nine years in the role, wrote to The Times newspaper saying Andrew met Epstein in the ‘early 1990s’.
Ghislaine Maxwell went on trial – Jeffrey Epstein’s network was “never touched
Andrew later said he saw Epstein ‘infrequently’, adding ‘probably no more than only once or twice a year’.
During Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial, jurors heard Andrew flew on Epstein’s private plane with a 14-year-old girl in the mid-1990s.
– 2000
Andrew and Maxwell are seen on holiday with Epstein at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Epstein and Maxwell attend a party at Windsor Castle hosted by Queen Elizabeth II to mark Andrew’s 40th birthday, the Princess Royal’s 50th, the Queen Mother’s 100th and Princess Margaret’s 70th.
Flight records from May show him confirmed as a passenger on Epstein’s private plane.
– 2001
Virginia Giuffre claims to have had sex with Andrew ‘three times, including one orgy’, with the first encounter allegedly taking place in Maxwell’s London townhouse.
Ms Giuffre also claimed to have had sex with Andrew at Epstein’s New York flat and at an ‘orgy’ on his private island Little St James in the Caribbean.
Andrew. Pic: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
– 2008
Epstein admits to prostituting minors and is sentenced to 18 months in prison.
– 2009
Epstein’s former housekeeper Juan Alessi testifies that Andrew had ‘daily massages’ at the paedophile’s Florida home.
– 2010
Epstein is released from jail. Andrew is photographed with Epstein in New York’s Central Park.
Footage emerges years later, reportedly shot on December 6 2010, showing him inside Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, from where he is seen looking out from a large door of the property, waving a woman goodbye after Epstein leaves to get into a chauffeur-driven car.
– 2011
Andrew quits his role as UK trade envoy after the fallout from the Central Park photos.
In February, he tells Epstein ‘we are in this together’ despite later claiming he broke off all contact with the paedophile in December 2010.
Ms Giuffre reportedly hands the photograph of her with Andrew to the FBI.
– 2015
Buckingham Palace denies Andrew has committed any impropriety after he is named in US court documents related to Epstein.
A woman, later named in reports as Ms Giuffre, alleges in papers filed in Florida that she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, which is under the age of consent in the state.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Andrew, in his first public engagement since he was embroiled in the allegations, responds by saying: ‘I just wish to reiterate, and to reaffirm, the statements that have already been made on my behalf by Buckingham Palace.’
In January, Andrew is reported to have sent an email to Maxwell asking for help in dealing with Ms Giuffre.
Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre. Pic: Shutterstock
– 2016
As part of her civil suit against Maxwell, Ms Giuffre testifies that Epstein paid her 15,000 dollars (£11,180) to have sex with Andrew.
Ms Giuffre also testified about a sexual encounter with Andrew in the bath of Maxwell’s home in 2001, saying: ‘He was adorning my young body, particularly my feet, caressing my toes and licking my arches.’
– 2019
Newly released legal documents show Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, claimed Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire’s Manhattan apartment in 2001.
Buckingham Palace said the allegations are ‘categorically untrue’.
Epstein is found dead in his jail cell on August 10, having killed himself after being charged with sex trafficking.
Later that month, a pilot on Epstein’s private jet, David Rodgers, claims Andrew was a passenger on past flights with the financier and Ms Giuffre.
Mr Rodgers said in a testimony released in August that Epstein, Andrew and the-then 17-year-old travelled to the US Virgin Islands on April 11 2001.
Pic: US Department of Justice
Buckingham Palace describes the evidence statement as having ‘a number of inconsistencies’, and said Andrew was on a different continent in some cases.
In her posthumous memoirs, Ms Giuffre claims American broadcaster ABC did not air an interview in 2019 after the royal family ‘applied pressure to nix the interview’.
Following Epstein’s death, a statement from the palace says Andrew is ‘appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes’.
Speaking for the first time since 2015, Andrew releases a statement on August 24 saying: ‘At no stage during the limited time I spent with him (Epstein) did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.’
In November, BBC Newsnight reveals Andrew has spoken about his relationship with Epstein in a ‘no holds barred’ interview.
In the interview, Andrew said he had ‘no recollection’ of ever meeting Ms Giuffre and added he could not have had sex with her in March 2001 because he was at Pizza Express with his daughter Beatrice on the day in question.
He added he ‘did not regret’ his friendship with the sex offender but admitted he should not have gone to see him in New York in 2010 to break off their friendship.
The television sit-down was widely criticised and dubbed a ‘car crash’, with commentators questioning Andrew’s responses and condemning his unsympathetic tone for victims and seeming lack of remorse over the friendship.
Four days after the interview, the then Duke of York released a statement confirming he was ‘stepping back from public duties for the foreseeable future’ with permission from Queen Elizabeth II.
Andrew also said he ‘deeply sympathised’ with all of Epstein’s victims and added he was ‘willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required’.
In December, Ms Giuffre implores the British public to ‘stand up beside me to help me fight this fight’ and ‘not accept this as being OK’, in clips released ahead of a BBC Panorama interview.
– 2020
In January, a US prosecutor claims Andrew has ‘provided zero co-operation’ over the Epstein sex trafficking inquiry.
Speaking at a news conference outside Epstein’s New York mansion, US attorney Geoffrey Berman said Andrew’s lawyers had been contacted by prosecutors and the FBI who requested to interview him as part of the investigation.
Ms Giuffre, writing on social media a few days later, urges Andrew to ‘do the right thing’ and talk to FBI investigators.
In June, Andrew’s lawyers said he offered to assist the US department of justice ‘on at least three occasions this year’ in its investigation into Epstein.
Just a few hours later, prosecutor Mr Berman – who was leading the investigation into Epstein at the time – said Andrew had ‘yet again sought to falsely portray himself to the public as eager and willing to co-operate’ although he ‘has repeatedly declined’ requests to schedule an interview.
Speaking in a documentary, Ms Giuffre claims Andrew played a ‘guessing game’ about her age and compared her with his daughters during the alleged March 2001 encounter at Maxwell’s home.
A former Epstein employee tells a Netflix documentary he saw Andrew frolicking with a topless Ms Giuffre in a pool on the paedophile’s island.
– 2021
In August, Ms Giuffre starts legal action against Andrew, saying it was ‘past the time for him to be held to account’ for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.
Lawyers for Ms Giuffre filed a civil suit seeking unspecified damages at a federal court in New York, where documents claim she was ‘lent out for sexual purposes’ by Epstein, including while she was still a minor under US law.
Andrew is named as the only defendant in the 15-page suit, brought under New York state’s Child Victims Act, though Epstein and Maxwell are mentioned frequently throughout.
In December, Maxwell is convicted in a New York court of helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.
– 2022
In January, a US judge rules the civil case against Andrew can go ahead, in what is a huge blow for the royal whose lawyer had argued it should be thrown out.
Andrew’s status as a member of the royal family is left in tatters after Queen Elizabeth II strips him of his honorary military roles and he gives up his HRH style in a dramatic fallout from his civil sex case.
He is also stripped of his remaining royal patronages.
The development came after more than 150 veterans joined forces to express their outrage, writing to the late Queen to demand the removal of the honorary military positions.
Buckingham Palace says in a statement that Andrew ‘will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen’.
In February, court documents show Andrew and Ms Giuffre have reached a ‘settlement in principle’ in the civil sex claim.
The documents show Andrew will make a ‘substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights’, and has pledged to ‘demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein’ by supporting the ‘fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims’.
Commentators say while he ‘at last’ appears to have got the tone and language right, it is unlikely he will ever return to public royal life, with one branding him ‘reputationally toast’.
Calls are renewed for him to lose his dukedom after he pays millions of pounds to a woman he claims never to have met.
– 2024
Allegations against Andrew resurface in unsealed documents as part of Ms Giuffre’s civil claim against Maxwell – with claims such as him being involved in sex tapes, as well as resurfaced allegations of his participation in an under-age orgy.
– 2025
Ms Giuffre dies aged 41 in April.
Buckingham Palace announces Andrew will stop using his titles and honours, including the Duke of York.
Ms Giuffre’s posthumous memoirs claim Andrew’s ‘team’ tried to hire ‘internet trolls to hassle’ her.
The Metropolitan Police said it would look into claims Andrew had passed Ms Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his taxpayer-funded bodyguard in 2011 and asked him to investigate.
Questions are raised about whether Andrew should have the right to continue living at the 30-bedroom Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor.
A copy of the leasehold agreement, shared with the Press Association by the Crown Estate, which oversees the royal family’s land and property holdings, shows Andrew signed a 75-year lease on the property in 2003.
It reveals he paid £1 million for the lease and that since then he has paid ‘one peppercorn’ of rent ‘if demanded’ per year.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says there should be ‘proper scrutiny’ of Andrew’s rent-free mansion.
It later emerges that the Public Accounts Committee is seeking further information about the peppercorn rent lease arrangement.
After speculation around whether Andrew will leave the Royal Lodge, Buckingham Palace announces the King has begun a process to remove his titles, style and honours.
Notice has also been served to surrender Andrew’s lease on the lodge and it emerges he will move to new accommodation on the private Sandringham estate.
The King formally strips his brother of his prince title and HRH style in November.
Andrew is also struck off the official roll of the peerage.
He is accused by US legislators of ‘hiding’ from them after he ignored a request to sit for a transcribed interview about his links to Epstein.
He is further stripped in December of his prestigious Order of the Garter and Royal Victorian Order honours.
Later in the month, photographs of Andrew emerge among releases of images from the so-called Epstein files, including one which appears to show him reclining across the legs of five people with his head near a woman’s lap.
Emails also come to light which increase scrutiny on Andrew.
One email sent from Balmoral signed ‘A’ asked Maxwell in August 2001: ‘Have you found me some inappropriate friends?’
Andrew does not join the royal family for the traditional Christmas Day church service on the King’s Sandringham Estate.
– 2026
Further photographs and emails are released as part of the Epstein files, revealing more about Andrew’s contact with the sex offender.
Photos appear to capture him crouched over an unidentified woman, while emails appear to show him exchanging messages with Epstein about a ‘beautiful’ Russian woman and inviting him to Buckingham Palace in an August 2010 exchange.
Members of the royal family start to comment publicly about the files, with the Prince and Princess of Wales saying they have been ‘deeply concerned’ by the ongoing revelations and the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, said it is ‘really important, always, to remember the victims’.
Thames Valley Police say they are assessing claims Andrew shared confidential reports from his role as the UK’s trade envoy with Epstein.
The King makes clear his ‘profound concern’ at allegations over Andrew’s conduct and that he will ‘stand ready to support’ the police if approached over the claims.
On February 19, Thames Valley Police announce Andrew has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
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