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 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...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



The Clacton by-election: “It has been amazing for business” 

Ella Beadman and Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | August 10, 2026

Ahead of the Clacton-on-Sea by-election this Thursday, Mace went to the constituency to hear what local businesses make of the media circus that has descended on the seaside town, and the changes they want

Burnham is trying to fix Whitehall, but will the political machinery change?

Mace | August 7, 2026

Andy Burnham is shaking up government with more changes than by any incoming prime minister in memory. But, asks Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, does he understand why the

Racing the sunset: a pilgrim odyssey across a dying Europe

Mace | August 4, 2026

For 10 months, ex-army officer James Jeffrey trekked 3500 km across Europe by foot. The scale of migration he witnessed may not have been as dramatic as the

Leader in Public Affairs: Grace Pritchard, Downing Street Director of News and the Prime Minister’s Political Spokesperson

Mace | August 3, 2026

After heading the Makerfield by-election comms team, Grace Pritchard was singled out by Andy Burnham as being a key part of his northern campaign team. The self-styled 'Yorkshire

Dame Antonia’s key civil service reforms are ready to be supported by Whitehall, says Jonathan Freeman

Mace | August 1, 2026

The Civil Service is ready to support Dame Antonia Romeo's flagship changes to government machinery - notably relating to AI and devolution - under new prime minister Andy

Kemi’s true blue purge, with help from Sir Philip May

William Cash | July 26, 2026

The news that former Home Secretary Sir Grant Shapps has failed to make the new Tory candidate list has put fear into dozens of former Conservative MPs. Whether

If Burnham wants growth, he must start by backing AI and Tech founders and risk-takers, says Liam Houghton

Mace | July 23, 2026

New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has an opportunity to make Britain the best place to start and scale a business, argues CEO Liam Houghton.

The continuing political Whydunnit of the murder of Ann Widdecombe

Mace Magazine | July 23, 2026

The strangely guilty way that the media, and some politicians have reacted to Widdecombe’s shocking death shows the double standards that can operate when a politician of the

The King of the North Takes Downing Street: Burnham’s Great Purge

Mace Magazine | July 21, 2026

The ruthlessness of Andy Burnham’s purge has taken the country back to Macmillan's Night of the Long Knives. Media reaction has been predictably partisan, with the choice of

Reform’s international policy: Farage looking to balance ideals with new foreign policy advisor

Jonathan Singh | July 16, 2026

To date, Reform is yet to appoint a foreign affairs spokesperson. Jonathan Singh looks at Reform's new approach to international affairs with the appointment of Dr Alan Mendoza