Mandelson's assistant sent government speech to Epstein just days after prison release, documents show
The email to Epstein's Gmail account came just days after the paedophile financier was released from prison.
Peter Mandelson's ministerial assistant sent Jeffrey Epstein a copy of a government speech prior to its delivery to the public, documents appear to show.
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The email to Epstein's Gmail account, which was dated 24 July 2009, came just two days after the paedophile financier was released from prison for sexual offending.
It was signed off as executive assistant to the secretary of state, and appears to have come from a government email address.
It reads: "Peter has asked me to forward you the attached speech he is delivering on Monday. Thanks."
The discovery comes as Mandelson remains under police investigation for misconduct in public office.
After being sacked from his role as British ambassador to the US in September, Mandelson also stepped down from the House of Lords earlier this month.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on behalf of the assistant.
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The name of the attached document is BirkbeckFINAL.doc and has the subject line HE Speech - thought to be a reference to higher education.
The footer at the bottom of the initial email states the email was sent from the Government Secure Intranet.
Three days after the email, Mandelson delivered a speech at Birkbeck, University of London.
It was the first speech on higher education for Lord Mandelson, having only just taken on the area in his role as business secretary.
In the address, Mandelson laid out the government's expectation of rising university fees, and pushed for British university courses to be marketed worldwide, according to contemporary reports.
The email chain, which was uncovered by Sky News, saw Mandelson ask Epstein for advice on various topics.
People within the sector were unable to say if advanced knowledge of the speech would have provided Epstein with a financial advantage.
Nick Hillman, a Conservative shadow education team employee at the time, said: "I cannot fathom why Peter Mandelson thought this would be of interest to the sort of people with the power to move the markets."
Last week, images emerged showing several police officers searching Mandelson's properties.
The two addresses, located in Wiltshire and north London, form part of a misconduct in public office investigation.
The Metropolitan Police referred the media to a previous statement, reading: "This will be a complex investigation requiring a significant amount of further evidence gathering and analysis.
"It will take some time to do this work comprehensively and we will not be providing a running commentary."
Mandelson formally retired from the House on February 4, following backlash over his connections with Epstein.
LBC have approached Mandelson's lawyers for comment.