UK firm lobbying for Qatar named 800 times in Epstein files
The firm’s co-founder Peter Mandelson was dismissed as UK ambassador to the US months before the lobbying contract was formally registered
Qatar is using Global Counsel, a consultancy co-founded by disgraced former UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson, to lobby senior British officials, Middle East Eye (MEE) reported on 14 February
The contract between Doha and the Mandelson-linked company was submitted months after he was dismissed from his diplomatic position due to his connections with convicted sex offender and human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Global Counsel, which Mandelson co-founded and chaired until 2024, is registered under the UK's Foreign Influence Registration Scheme as a lobbyist for the Qatari government, with its contract running until August 2026.
The firm was first officially registered for that work in December 2025, three months after Mandelson was dismissed over his relationship with Epstein.
According to the register, Global Counsel has spoken with "senior UK government officials with an interest in technology and infrastructure policy" on Qatar's behalf, and has also been working to “inform and guide the State of Qatar on macro-economic and political trends.”
The registration came as newly released US Department of Justice files appeared to show Mandelson had sought Epstein's input on business affairs after Epstein's 2008 guilty plea to child sex offences.
Mandelson's Global Counsel email address appears over 800 times across roughly three million released files.
A March 2010 email that was forwarded by Mandelson to Epstein outlined his "first shot at crystallizing business venture," naming Qatar among a list of "examples/target" clients.
That same month, files show co-founder Benjamin Wegg-Prosser met Epstein, a revelation that prompted his resignation as chief executive last week.
Wegg-Prosser's exit followed a broader exodus — Barclays and the Premier League both cut ties with Global Counsel this week after the Epstein links surfaced.
Separately released files indicate Epstein also had direct contact with senior Qatari officials, including brokering a 2018 meeting between former Qatari prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak.
Ehud Barak’s relationship with Epstein spanned around 15 years and involved dozens of stays at Epstein’s properties long after he was first registered as a sex offender.
Drop Site News recently reported that Epstein Barak collaborated on security and surveillance initiatives in several African states, most notably Cote d’Ivoire, citing US documents and leaked correspondence that showed the pair advancing intelligence and mass-monitoring proposals later formalized into bilateral security agreements, even after Barak left office.