The resurfacing of an affectionate greeting to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, alleged to have come from Lord Mandelson, raises huge questions.

It couldn’t have come at a worse moment – days before Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK, in which Mandelson, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, will play a significant role.

While he focuses on crafting Anglo-American collaboration on technology, his judgment is under scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic.

Newly released files, which had been demanded by the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill, appear to contain notes he sent to Jeffrey Epstein.

Follow updates: White House denies Trump behind birthday note

One reads: “…wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal!”

“Happy birthday, Jeffrey we love you!!” it concludes.

Mandelson’s connection to the billionaire, who died by suicide in prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, is well documented.

A 2019 JP Morgan internal report flagged a notably close relationship between the two.

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But his alleged use of the words “best pal” suggests a closer and warmer relationship than had been previously acknowledged.

Questioned about it in 2025, the UK’s ambassador to the US expressed “deep regret” over knowing Epstein but dismissed the issue as a media “obsession”.

Peter Mandelson, once dubbed “the Prince of Darkness” within Westminster, is a veteran politician who served in cabinet under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

His appointment as UK Ambassador to the United States in February 2025 surprised many people.

Read more:
What is in Epstein’s ‘birthday book’?

It is unusual for someone considered a political heavyweight to find themselves in what is traditionally a diplomatic role.

Asked about the alleged birthday greeting, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said Sir Keir Starmer had “full confidence” in the UK’s ambassador to the US.

The one thing sparing him any difficult questions from the White House is the fact that Mr Trump faces just as many himself over Epstein.

A handwriting expert has said the signature on a controversial birthday message to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein is “absolutely” US President Donald Trump’s.

Graphologist Emma Bache compared the signature with others the president wrote at the time, and told Sky News: “It is very much the signature he had in the 2000s. I can absolutely say it is Donald Trump’s.”

Newly released files handed to the United States Congress appear to contain birthday messages to billionaire paedophile Epstein from both the US president and the current British ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson.

They include a hand-drawing of a woman’s body, signed “Donald”, a picture of Epstein holding an outsized cheque, signed by “DJTRUMP”, and a message appearing to show Lord Mandelson calling Epstein his “best pal”.

Addressing the release of the image in a post on X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it.”

But Ms Bache was unequivocal.

“It’s incredibly distinctive. If we look at the way he has formed the ‘o’ of Donald, it’s actually a circle.

“He also has a very long horizontal stroke at the end of his name – which funnily enough is saying to people ‘keep away’ – and it’s absolutely identical in pressure, in length and formation of about every single stroke (to his current official signature).”

She said the capital ‘D’ of his name in the Epstein message, was also very distinctive and exactly the same as another letter written in 1996 and 2000.

The files were handed over following a demand by the Oversight Committee of the US Congress and are from a book compiled by Epstein’s co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, to celebrate his 50th birthday in 2003.

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Trump latest: White House denial and Mandelson notes

The White House said the president’s legal team was “aggressively pursuing litigation”.

Ms Bache said she was “not surprised he would deny it”.

She added: “He has an awful lot to lose, but it doesn’t affect my analysis of it.”

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‘You will listen to me – I am right’

After examining a number of his signatures under a microscope, she concluded: “The idea that it could be forged would be almost impossible. I certainly wouldn’t be able to get anywhere close to Donald Trump’s handwriting.

“It’s a very confident, very speedy signature and when you forge something, you do it more slowly.”

She said his modern signature had changed a little but still had clear similarities.

She added: “His modern signature is all angles and in graphology, angles are about energy, aggression, there’s a tension there.

“There’s no softness and his communication style is one of ‘you will listen to me and I am right’.

Ambassador’s denial

Lord Mandelson has also come under scrutiny for his relationship with Epstein – and the release of the files has compounded the issue.

They appear to include a glowing contribution from the Labour grandee, with him calling Epstein his “best pal” and writing of the friend “taking you by surprise… in one of his glorious homes he likes to share with his friends (yum yum)”.

Lord Mandelson’s spokesman said he “very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein”.

Files from a “birthday book” compiled for the paedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein by co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell have been released publicly for the first time.

This article contains images and language that some readers may find disturbing

The 238-page book, released by the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, appears to show messages from several high-profile acquaintances of Epstein to mark his 50th birthday, which was in 2003.

They appear to include messages from the likes of Donald Trump and the UK ambassador to Washington, Lord Peter Mandelson.

They are among dozens of messages, seemingly from childhood friends, former girlfriends, and people who came to know him after he became a wealthy financier.

The book would have been made three years before allegations of sex abuse by Epstein became public in 2006.

Here’s what the documents show us.

Alleged notes and drawing from Trump

The birthday note signed ‘Donald J. Trump’ – which the president has denied sending – features words inside the drawn outline of a woman.

It begins with a ‘voice over’ which says: “There must be more to life than having everything.”

It then presents a presumably fictitious exchange between ‘Donald’ and ‘Jeffrey’ about having “certain things” in common.

Scroll to see more images released from the ‘birthday book’

The message concludes: “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

It ends with a signature similar to Mr Trump’s drawn across the woman’s waist, which some have interpreted to mimic the appearance of pubic hair.

The note was first published in part by The Wall Street Journal in July, prompting Mr Trump to launch legal action and sue the “ass off” Rupert Murdoch, who owns the paper.

He denied writing the letter, calling it “fake” and adding: “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures.”

After the full image was released by the House Oversight Committee, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it.

“President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.”

There is also a partially redacted image of Epstein holding an oversized cheque signed “DJTRUMP”.

A handwritten note below the photo reads: “Jeffrey showing early talents with money + women! Sells ‘fully depreciated’ [redacted] to Donald Trump for $22,500.”

The president has generally denied any impropriety involving Epstein, whom he once counted as a friend.

Mandelson’s message about ‘interesting friends’

The documents include what appears to be a birthday note from UK ambassador Lord Mandelson, who refers to Epstein as “my best pal”.

It begins with him appearing to reminisce about the first time he met Epstein, before alluding to how the financier would often leave one alone with some “interesting friends to entertain”.

It is not clear what was meant by these so-called ‘interesting friends’, but the line is accompanied by an image of two people with their faces obscured or redacted.

The note references Epstein “taking you by surprise… in one of his glorious homes he likes to share with his friends (yum yum)”.

Pictures of Lord Mandelson appear on the pages, which include an image of a tropical island.

Previously, a 2019 report by JP Morgan bank suggested Lord Mandelson stayed at Epstein’s New York flat in 2009, while the disgraced financier was serving an 18-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution.

Sky News asked Lord Mandelson about the story in May this year, to which he responded: “I’m not answering any questions about him. My knowledge of him is something I regret, I wish I’d never met him in the first place.”

Asked why he had an association with Epstein while he was in jail, Lord Mandelson replied: “Why did many people meet him? He was a prolific networker and I wish I’d never met him in the first place.”

Message from Clinton highlights his ‘childlike curiosity’

Included in the birthday book is a message seemingly signed by former president Bill Clinton, which references Epstein’s “childlike curiosity”.

“It’s reassuring isn’t it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing… and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends,” the note reads.

Mr Clinton was among those acquainted with Epstein before the criminal investigation against him in Florida became public two decades ago. He has never been accused of wrongdoing by any of the women who say Epstein abused them.

Mr Clinton previously said, through a spokesperson, that while he travelled on Epstein’s jet, he never visited his homes and had no knowledge of his crimes.

‘I’ve sat on the Queen of England’s throne’

The book’s contents were split into sections separating entries from people with different relationships to Epstein, from family, to “girlfriends”, another section marked “girl-friends”, colleagues and, towards the end of the book, assistants.

One person in the latter category, who did not sign their message, writes about a series of places they have been and things they have done since meeting Epstein.

Included on the list is meeting the likes of Prince Andrew, Mr Clinton and Mr Trump, as well as seeing the private quarters of Buckingham Palace and sitting on the ‘Queen of England’s throne’.

Revealing photos, cryptic drawings and lewd references

In the book’s prologue, Maxwell, Epstein’s lover-turned-friend, tells the 50-year-old she hopes he will “derive as much pleasure looking through it as I did putting it together for you”.

While the book starts with messages from Epstein’s family and photos of him in his younger years, it soon becomes plastered with photos of women – some naked and some in bikinis – many of which have been partially redacted.

Several of the images come from women whose messages are listed in the “assistants” section. One concludes her message by writing, “What else can I say butt…” before including an image of an unidentified man slipping his hand down the back of a woman’s jeans.

There are also numerous images of men in tight bathing suits, many including Epstein.

Many of the messages contain compliments to Epstein regarding both his personality and his career achievements.

One such message comes towards the end of the book from late Bear Stearns CEO Alan “Ace” Greenberg, who writes: “Working with Jeffrey has been a pleasure and watching his meteoric success has given me many vicarious thrills.”

There are also cryptic sketches and edited images included by various contributors.

One letter, unsigned, calls Epstein “a collector of more than beautiful minds” who appreciates “beauty marks”.

It details how Maxwell went to a Palm Beach Horse Show on a “mission” to make a “compilation of breast photos” for Epstein.

The person writes: “I came to see you some months later [and] you told me to take off my top. With the usual Epstein smile you looked at my breasts and said ‘yeah, I was right.’ Memory served you correctly. The beauty mark was on the right breast.”

The letter also included a photo of a bra.

A poem says Epstein would “outrage the public decency” on “any occasion”.

It reads: “As far as I can detect, Jeffrey seems to select to express his mood, terms rude, crude and lewd, and politically incorrect.”

It concludes with the line: “Jeffrey at half a century, with credentials plenipotentiary, though up to no good whenever he could, has avoided the penitentiary.”

Another contributor, whose name has been redacted, details how she met Epstein in the summer of 1985.

She shares several memories, including how he asked whether she was a virgin the first time they were left alone, and how they once went shopping together at Bloomingdales, where he “proceeded to throw me down on the floor… and started kissing and tickling me all over”.

She included several photos of her and Epstein which have been edited to mask her identity. One, where she is pictured in underwear while looking in a wardrobe, is captioned: “Visiting you down in Palm Beach… can’t get a second of privacy with you and a camera around – ha ha!”

One contributor refers to him as a “brilliant and unpredictable friend”, while another says he can “maybe be a bear, but mostly a teddy bear”.

As well as the birthday book, the documents released include Epstein’s will, his contact books, agreements he signed with prosecutors and his financial transactions and holdings.