Lord Mandelson has been sacked in disgrace after a series of damning revelations about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Sir Keir Starmer rallied around his man in Washington for days, praising the job the UK’s Trump-whisperer had done penetrating the president’s inner circles.
But the prime minister was forced to change course on Thursday, dismissing Lord Mandelson with immediate effect.
It came after he urged Epstein to push for early release from a jail term the paedophile was handed for the solicitation of a minor.
The dismissal leaves his reputation in tatters and marks what is almost certainly the final sacking of a career that had previously been defined by remarkable comebacks.
But, despite the humiliation, Lord Mandelson will return to a life of luxury in the UK and continue to wield significant influence in British business and politics.
Before heading to the US, Lord Mandelson was living in a luxurious farmhouse in the Pewsey Vale in Wiltshire. During the pandemic, he wrote about the “cosy country life” he was enjoying on the farm.
He is the part-owner of Global Counsel, a powerful lobbying firm he co-founded, and remains president of its international advisory board.
He may struggle to secure a place back in the Labour fold, but Lord Mandelson will likely take up a position back at the heart of the firm he established.
In the past, Global Counsel has advised giant multinational firms such as the fast fashion retailer Shein and energy behemoth BP. As well as the influential business position, Lord Mandelson has the more ceremonial High Steward of Hull title, though the council will try to strip him of it in the coming weeks.
But while he returns to a lavish life in Britain, it won’t be a touch on the grandeur of life in the early 1900s residence built for Britain’s ambassador in Washington.
The property, one of the most luxurious residences in the US capital, recently underwent a near £120m renovation, with artworks including an Andy Warhol painting of Queen Elizabeth II adorning the walls.
It has previously welcomed royalty from Princess Charles and Princess Diana to pop royalty such as the likes of the Beatles.
Guests who have been hosted in the embassy since Lord Mandelson moved in include much of President Trump’s inner circle and the great and good of American business.
Historian Anthony Seldon has described the Washington residence as “the finest embassy residence anywhere in the world”.
Symbolically the residence boasts a statue of Sir Winston Churchill with one foot planted on British soil and the other on American soil. Lord Mandelson will soon find both of his own feet back on British soil.
No Labour leader will bring the tarnished grandee back into the fold after the extent of his relations with Epstein have been revealed. And he has said himself that further “very embarrassing” information will come to light in the future.
His career has been one of many comebacks, but Thursday’s sacking seems a fall too far for Lord Mandelson to recover from.
