"Lord Peter Mandelson once memorably said he was intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich. Indeed over three decades at the top of British public life, he has shown a penchant for relaxing intensely in the yachts, homes and holiday pads of the super-wealthy. When the Labour peer was made ambassador to Donald Trump's White House, he promised to stay below the radar but the merest glance at his past record showed that to be a highly unlikely prospect."
"He is fond of reminding journalists who reproduce the intensely relaxed remark that the full quote included the caveat, as long as they pay their taxes. But it is unclear whether he ever checked the fiscal contributions of his mega-rich friends including best pal Jeffrey Epstein, with whom Mandelson is seen lounging in a white bathrobe in a photograph that emerged this week. Money was ultimately at the heart of Mandelson's two resignations from Tony Blair's Labour government, in 1998."
Peter Mandelson was a central figure in modern British Labour politics, shaping the party's public pitch alongside Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He cultivated relationships with wealthy power-brokers and accepted hospitality in yachts, homes and holiday residences of the super-wealthy. He gave Morgan McSweeney an early Labour job and later served as ambassador to Donald Trump's White House, promising a low profile. A photograph shows him with Jeffrey Epstein, raising questions about whether he checked his friends' tax contributions. Money controversies led to two resignations from Blair's government: an undeclared £373,000 loan from Geoffrey Robinson prompted his 1998 exit.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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