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.

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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.

Donald Trump’s bid to fire a US central bank rate-setter has suffered a setback after a federal judge blocked the move.

The president revealed last month that he was removing Lisa Cook from her post at the Federal Reserve on alleged mortgage fraud grounds.

The move was widely seen by commentators as a bid to destroy the Fed’s independence through the appointment of a new governor who would support his bid for interest rate cuts to boost the trade war-hit US economy.

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Ms Cook, who denies wrongdoing and any cause to dismiss her, was appointed to the Fed’s board by former US president Joe Biden. The board forms part of the panel that votes on US interest rate decisions.

She secured a preliminary court ruling late on Tuesday which found that the Trump administration’s claims she committed mortgage fraud prior to taking office were likely not sufficient grounds for her removal.

The White House has claimed she inaccurately described three separate properties on mortgage applications, which could have allowed her to obtain lower interest rates and tax credits.

But US District Judge Jia Cobb said: “President Trump has not identified anything related to Cook’s conduct or job performance as a Board member that would indicate that she is harming the Board or the public interest by executing her duties unfaithfully or ineffectively.”

The ruling, which could yet be appealed, means she can continue in her role while her own lawsuit proceeds.

It could end up in the Supreme Court.

Mr Trump’s demands this year that the Fed cuts rates have so far fallen on deaf ears as the central bank voting has shown too much concern over trade war-linked inflation. Prices have risen as higher import duties have been passed on.

He has repeatedly called for Fed chair Jay Powell to resign but retracted threats to fire him.

The president may actually get his wish for a cut this month amid a deterioration in the employment market – also widely blamed on his trade war – as hiring has slumped.

The central bank, unlike the Bank of England, has a dual mandate to ensure maximum employment as well as keeping inflation in check.

Any rate cut would be unlikely to extinguish the Trump administration’s effort to influence monetary policy.

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The Fed’s ability to set interest rates without regard to politicians’ demands is critical to market confidence, let alone the central bank’s ability to keep inflation under control.

Neither the Fed or the White House commented on the ruling.

Ms Cook’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said: “This ruling recognises and reaffirms the importance of safeguarding the independence of the Federal Reserve from illegal political interference.”

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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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”.