PETER Mandelson phoned paedophile tycoon Jeffrey Epstein while he was in jail for sex offences, according to a bombshell documentary.
The then-Labour Business Secretary allegedly called to ask for help setting up a meeting with the boss of JP Morgan bank.
He was referred to by the pet name Petie during the call, a pal of Epstein has told Channel 4’s Dispatches.
The friend added: “I must say I was astonished that a British Cabinet minister at that time, probably the most powerful man other than the Prime Minister, was calling Jeffrey in jail.”
The revelations will drag Lord Mandelson, a confidant of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, into the scandal surrounding Epstein, who was jailed for child sex offences in 2008.
The perverted financier, a friend of Prince Andrew, was found dead in his jail cell earlier this year.
In tomorrow’s 9pm Dispatches special, The Prince and the Paedophile, Epstein’s pal alleges: “While I was there, he (Epstein) received a call and said, ‘Hello, Petie’. And Petie wanted to meet Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan. He said: ‘yes, I’ll sort it out’.
“Petie turned out to be Secretary of the Board of Trade, Peter Mandelson.”
Lord Mandelson, 65, who twice quit the Cabinet amid scandals, was known to be in Epstein’s little black book of powerful and famous contacts.
In a statement, lawyers for Lord Mandelson said: “Our client has no recollection of a telephone conversation with Mr Epstein in January 2009. He talked to bank CEOs on a regular basis, including Mr Dimon. These contacts were arranged through his office.”