Latest news with #LordMandelson
Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Peter Mandelson: Let Britain host the Super Bowl
Like Halloween or Thanksgiving, the Super Bowl is a quintessentially American affair. Britain has already imported commercialised versions of the former and now efforts are being made to bring the flagship sporting event across the pond too. The idea has been floated by Lord Mandelson, the British ambassador to the United States, who admitted he had been on a mission to bring the National Football League (NFL)'s championship fixture to the UK since starting his role in February. 'I've made a big pitch for the first Super Bowl outside the US to take place in Britain,' he told the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Thursday, asking if there were any NFL workers in the audience. Mandelson with President Trump in May JIM WATSON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES 'I want that Super Bowl in Britain. I don't care when it takes place but I want it announced while I'm ambassador,' Mandelson added, to audience laughter. 'We love it, we love it.'
Telegraph
26-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Mandelson ‘called Epstein my best pal'
Lord Mandelson called Jeffrey Epstein 'my best pal' in a birthday message, according to reports. The Labour grandee, Britain's ambassador to the United States, is alleged to have written the message for a birthday album put together for the paedophile financier's 50th birthday in 2003. Recent reports have rocked Washington amid claims that Donald Trump, the US president, and Bill Clinton, the former president, also sent letters for the album. Mr Trump fiercely denied the claims, while Mr Clinton has not commented. The letter from Lord Mandelson, in which he called Epstein 'my best pal', featured photographs of a tropical island and whiskey, according to The Wall Street Journal. The album is said to have been examined by the justice department when it investigated the paedophile, who was charged with sex trafficking in 2019 and later killed himself in his Manhattan prison cell. It marks an embarrassing development for Lord Mandelson both in the US, where high-profile figures are under pressure over their association with Epstein, and in Britain, where Sir Keir Starmer has previously been urged to sever ties with the ambassador over the relationship. A spokesman for Lord Mandelson declined to comment on the allegations. Dinner parties and shopping trips Epstein appeared to maintain a 'particularly close relationship' with Lord Mandelson, whom he affectionately referred to as 'Petie', according to court documents released two years ago. A 2002 New York Magazine article listed Lord Mandelson as a dinner-party guest at Epstein's Manhattan home, along with Mr Trump and Mr Clinton. Photographs have shown Lord Mandelson and Epstein shopping for clothes in the Caribbean in 2005, in which the former Cabinet minister tries on a white leather belt, and celebrating a birthday at the financier's Paris apartment in 2007. Earlier this year, Lord Mandelson claimed the media had an 'obsession' about his relationship with the paedophile. 'I regret ever meeting him or being introduced to him by his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell. I regret even more the hurt he caused to many young women,' he said. He added: 'I'm not going to go into this. It's an… obsession and frankly you can all f— off. Ok?' Mr Trump is under mounting pressure to release all the documents held by the US government on Epstein. So far, his administration has refused to do so despite calls for transparency by some of the president's closest allies, splitting his support base in the process. 'A pal is a wonderful thing' For the birthday album, Mr Trump reportedly sent a letter imagining a cryptic conversation with his then-friend in which he said they had 'certain things in common' and featured a drawing of a nude woman in permanent marker. Mr Trump also reportedly wrote 'enigmas never age' and ended the message with the words: 'A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.' The president has denied writing or sending the letter, and is suing The Wall Street Journal for defamation over the report. However, Mr Trump's name is listed among dozens of Epstein's acquaintances who were asked to contribute birthday messages for the album, The New York Times reported. A White House spokesman described the story as 'fake news'. Mr Clinton is said to have praised Epstein's 'childlike curiosity' in a birthday message to the paedophile in 2003. A spokesman declined to comment to the newspaper. Democrats in Congress have written to the Epstein estate's executors asking for an un-redacted copy of the album. Its existence and contents have not been independently verified by The Telegraph. Brad Edwards, a lawyer for hundreds of Epstein's victims, said on Thursday: 'I know the executors of the estate are in possession of that book.'
Telegraph
21-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Sacked Mandelson recruited BBC boss to help beg for a new government job
Lord Mandelson enlisted the help of a former BBC boss in a desperate bid to get back into government after twice being forced to resign from Sir Tony Blair's cabinet, newly released files show. Papers released by the National Archives show Lord Mandelson hoped Lord Birt, the former BBC director-general, would help him to secure another top job and 'fulfil his promise'. Lord Mandelson, who is now the UK's ambassador to the US, was appointed by Sir Tony in 2004 to the post of Britain's European commissioner, which oversaw trade. He had been forced to quit as Northern Ireland secretary in January 2001 following claims he had helped Srichand Hinduja, the controversial Indian businessman, secure a UK passport in return for sponsoring the Millennium Dome. The Hammond report later found there had been no wrongdoing from all involved. Despite this, Sir Tony was reluctant to bring Lord Mandelson back into the fold after he had already resigned once before in 1998 from his post as trade secretary after a scandal over an undeclared home loan from Geoffrey Robinson, a fellow Labour minister. However, Lord Birt, who was serving as a senior policy adviser in No 10, wrote to the prime minister in April 2003 urging him to think again.
Times
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
Peter Mandelson meets George Ford and jokes: ‘I don't take any prisoners'
When George Ford was appointed England rugby captain to face Argentina he expected to run into some big hitters. Sir Tony Blair and Lord Mandelson were not the two he had in mind. On the tour, first in Argentina, now in the capital of the United States, Ford has met both politicians. Before his 100th cap nearly two weeks ago, a video message dropped from the former prime minister. At the British Embassy in Washington, it was Mandelson, the US ambassador, wanting to talk about sport. 'I have long admired rugby,' Mandelson said. 'It is a magnificent contest of force and skill. It's like politics. And I was quite good because I'm quite forceful and I don't take any prisoners. I like getting stuck in. I don't settle for half measures, rather like politics.'
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Donald Trump announces 30% tariffs on goods from the EU and Mexico
Donald Trump announced on Saturday that goods imported from both the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% US tariff rate starting 1 August, in letters posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. The tariff assault on the EU came as a shock to European capitals as the European Commission and the US trade representative Jamieson Greer had spent months hammering out a deal they believed was acceptable to both sides. The agreement in principle put on Trump's table last Wednesday involved a 10% tariff, five times the pre-Trump tariff, which the bloc already described as 'pain'. EU trade ministers will meet on Monday for a pre-arranged summit and will be under pressure from some countries to show a tough reaction by implementing €21bn ($24.6bn) in retaliatory measures, which they had paused until midnight the same day. Related: Trump's 10% tariff on most UK goods 'here to stay', says Lord Mandelson In his letter to Mexico's leader, Trump acknowledged that the country had been helpful in stemming the flow of undocumented immigrants and fentanyl into the United States. But, he said, the country had not done enough to stop North America from turning into a 'Narco-Trafficking Playground'. 'We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers,' Trump wrote in the letter to the EU. 'Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.' Claudia Sheinbaum said on Saturday she is sure an agreement can be reached before Trump's threatened tariffs take effect on 1 August. Speaking during an event in the Mexican state of Sonora, the Mexican president added that Mexico's sovereignty is never negotiable. The higher-than-expected rate has dealt a blow to the EU's hopes of de-escalation and a trade deal and could risk a trade war with goods of low margins including Belgian chocolate, Irish butter and Italian olive oil. The EU was informed of the tariff hike before Trump's declaration on social media. In a letter to the EU, Trump warned that the EU would pay a price if they retaliated: 'If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs and retaliate, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 30% that we charge.' European leaders respond The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the 30% rate would 'disrupt transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic'. She said the bloc was one of the more open trading places in the world, and still hoped to persuade Trump to climb down. 'We remain ready to continue working towards an agreement by August 1. At the same time, we will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required,' she said. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, called on the bloc to 'resolutely defend European interests'. Expressing Paris's 'very strong disapproval' of Trump's announcement, Macron urged the EU to 'step up the preparation of credible countermeasures by mobilising all instruments at its disposal' if the two sides failed to reach agreement by 1 August. Germany's economy minister, Katherina Reiche, called on the EU to 'negotiate in a pragmatic manner', while the Federation of German Industries (BDI) warned that a trade conflict between the two partners 'harms economic recovery, innovation strength, and ultimately confidence in international cooperation.' Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, called for 'goodwill … to reach a fair agreement that can strengthen the west as a whole. It would make no sense to trigger a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic.' She added that both sides should avoid 'polarisation'. The decision to hike the tariffs will also be another test of Trump's ability to act in good faith in negotiations. Related: Young people don't feel part of the EU – and they're right | Francesco Grillo Brussels will view the latest threat as a maneuver by Trump to extract more concessions from the EU, which he once described as 'nastier' than China when it came to trade. Bernd Lange, the head of the European Parliament's trade committee, said on Saturday that Brussels should react immediately with countermeasures against Trump's 'outrageous' threat to hike tariffs on imports from the European Union. The EU had been negotiating intensively with Washington for more than three weeks and had made concessions, said Lange. 'It is brazen and disrespectful to increase the tariffs on European goods announced on April 2 from 20% to 30%,' Lange told Reuters. 'This is a slap in the face for the negotiations. This is no way to deal with a key trading partner.' While Trump indicated earlier this week that his new rates, also levelled against big economies including Japan, South Korea and Brazil, will not apply until 1 August, his latest tactic will create much distrust. Europe should make it clear that these 'unfair trade practices' were unacceptable, Lange said. 'We have postponed the first stage of our countermeasures for the time being, but I am firmly convinced that they must now be implemented immediately,' he said. 'The first list of countermeasures must be activated on Monday as planned, and the second list should also follow quickly.' Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, downplayed the impact of the threatened 50% tariff. Trump and Lula have indicated a willingness to negotiate, though Lula also said: 'Trump could've called, but instead posted the tariff news on his website – a complete lack of respect which is typical of his behavior towards everyone.' Even if Trump had agreed to the proposal put on his table on Wednesday, further negotiations would have been needed in any case to create a legal text that can be formally registered by the US government, a process that is itself laden with risk. The UK took seven weeks to get its agreement registered with a promise included to reduce tariffs on car exports from 27.5% to 10%, but the agreed zero tariff for the British steel industry was omitted. Related: Macron calls on EU to 'defend European interests resolutely' from Trump tariffs Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Congressional Budget Office director and president of the center-right American Action Forum, said the letters were evidence that serious trade talks had not been taking place over the past three months. He stressed that nations were instead talking among themselves about how to minimize their own exposure to the US economy and Trump. 'They're spending time talking to each other about what the future is going to look like, and we're left out,' Holtz-Eakin said. He added that Trump was using the letters to demand attention, but, 'in the end, these are letters to other countries about taxes he's going to levy on his citizens'. The new tariff ends a turbulent week for the EU with Trump announcing an extension for talks until 1 August on Monday, then on Tuesday announcing the EU would 'probably' receive a letter setting its new US tariff rate within 48 hours, claiming the bloc had shifted from being 'very tough' to 'very nice'. But diplomats viewed it as a mixed message as Trump stressed that he was still talking to negotiators from the bloc, but that he was displeased with European policies toward US tech firms. Sign in to access your portfolio
