Global Counsel admits emails are missing following audit

Oliver Dean | 27th February 2026 | Politics

Mandelson co-founded the firm in 2010. (Photo by Peter Nicholls/Getty Images)

Mandelson's firm admits that a significant number of his emails are missing, following an internal audit.

Global Counsel has admitted that a "significant" number of his business emails are missing following an internal audit. This has strengthened calls for an overhaul of Britain's lobbying register and raising fresh questions about accountability in public life. Global Counsel, which Mandelson set up in 2010 and left when he was appointed US ambassador last year, entered liquidation last week. Before doing so, the company conducted an internal review of his email account amid mounting scrutiny over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. That audit uncovered a substantial gap in the records. "The company does not know how the emails came to be missing," The Times reported. The disclosure comes days after Mandelson was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and released on bail until May. Police are investigating allegations that Mandelson passed market-sensitive information to Epstein during the 2008 financial crisis, which included an internal report o...

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