Enfield North MP's gushing messages to Mandelson laid bare

Enfield North MP Feryal Clark sent congratulatory messages to Peter Mandelson upon his appointment as US ambassador, telling him the government would need him "big time" – before later insisting she had no personal relationship with the man now at the centre of one of the most serious political scandals in recent British history.

The exchange, part of the latest release of the so-called Mandelson files, took place on 20th December 2024 via WhatsApp, shortly after Mandelson's ambassadorial appointment was announced.

Clark, who was at the time serving as junior minister for artificial intelligence under science secretary Peter Kyle, wrote: "Huge congratulations Peter, great news to wake up to today! We are going to need you big time I work in Peter Kyle's team now as his minister for AI. Have a great Christmas & new year."

The warmth of the message sits awkwardly alongside what was already publicly known at the time it was sent.

When Mandelson was appointed in December 2024, it had already been reported that he had previously maintained a friendship with Jeffrey Epstein – the convicted sex offender and paedophile who died in custody in 2019.

Clark's enthusiasm was not the caution of someone keeping a purely arm's-length professional contact. It reads as the message of someone genuinely pleased.

Mandelson replied with a string of flag emojis and the letters "AI", apparently signalling that artificial intelligence should be central to the UK-US relationship, before adding - after a redacted response from Clark - that his "chief AI buddy" in the US was Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI.

Since the messages emerged, Clark has sought to distance herself from Mandelson.

Asked to respond, she said: "I had no personal relationship with Peter Mandelson. However, in my previous role as AI Minister, I felt it was important to maintain a professional working relationship with someone who, as the UK's Ambassador to the United States, had direct access to one of the world's largest and most influential AI markets."

That explanation will struggle to hold up to scrutiny. The message Clark sent was not the kind of brief, transactional communication you would expect from someone maintaining a purely professional contact. "Great news to wake up to" and "we are going to need you big time" are the words of someone welcoming an ally, not filing a courtesy note.

She added that she was "deeply disturbed and disgusted" by the revelations that subsequently emerged. What she did not address is the question of judgment – specifically, why a sitting government minister was sending warm personal messages to someone whose prior association with Epstein was already a matter of public record.

That context matters. It has since emerged that Mandelson passed sensitive government information to Epstein during his time as a minister under Gordon Brown in 2009 and 2010.

He was arrested by the Metropolitan Police in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, released on bail, and denies any wrongdoing.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer sacked him from the ambassadorial role in September 2025 – but only after publicly backing him the day before, despite having been warned of Mandelson's Epstein ties in a due diligence report before he was even appointed.

The belated sacking has done little to protect Starmer, whose position as prime minister now looks increasingly precarious as the full picture continues to emerge.

Clark's retrospective disgust is noted. But she sent those messages. She knew what she knew at the time. And "professional relationship" does not quite cover "great news to wake up to."