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The release of the so-called Epstein
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files has sparked a reckoning among
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several of the elites companies and
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individuals shown to have had close ties
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with the convicted sex trafficker.
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Former presidents, fated entrepreneurs,
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and even bosses of listed companies have
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all been shown to have nurtured close
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ties to Epstein well after his first
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conviction for solisting prostitution
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from a minor in 2008. But in Britain,
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one company finds itself at the center
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of the maelstrom more than almost any
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other. It's called Global Council and is
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a lobbying and political consultancy
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co-founded by disgraced Labour
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politician Peter Mandlesson. Set up in
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the aftermath of Labour's defeat at the
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2010 general election, it has grown into
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one of the capital's most renowned
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public affairs shops. Clients have
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ranged from blue chip firms like the
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Premier League and Barclays to more
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controversial companies like statebacked
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Russian oil majors and defense
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manufacturers with links to the Chinese
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government. But now it's locked in a
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battle for survival after the Department
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of Justice's email release contained
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over 800 mentions of the company and its
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activities. Almost all of these were
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from exchanges between Epstein and
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Mandlesson, the new labor architect
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ousted from his role as US ambassador
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over the saga. But some showed Epstein
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played an instrumental role helping
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connect its leadership with potential
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clients and advising on strategy. Others
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showed that when the agency was in its
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infancy, Mandelson's co-founder, Ben WG
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Proer, met with Epstein while he was
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under house arrest. The fallout has been
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as dramatic as it has been rapid. Last
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week, WG ProA, a key communications aid
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at Tony Blair, resigned as its chief
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executive, and its new leadership is
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struggling to keep hold of its more
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mainstream clients. Today, City AM
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reveals that Pensen giant Phoenix,
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Tesco, and the Bank of America have
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parted ways following in the footsteps
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of Barclays, GSK, and the private equity
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juggernaut KKR. The firm is at pains to
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say that it had no knowledge of the
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nature of the relationship its
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co-founder kept with Epstein and that it
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is only now being aware of the extent of
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his conduct. But that hasn't stopped
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industry figures questioning whether it
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can retain the sway it once had with and
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connections to UK policy makers as the
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intensity of the backlash over
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Mandlesson only accelerates. To stay up
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to date with all the developments on
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global council and the fallout from the
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Epstein files, go to cityam.com.
