Summary
A leaked intelligence dossier compiled by former MI6 officer Christopher Steele claims Russian spy agencies considered Lord Mandelson one of their most significant achievements in influencing British politics over three decades.
What Happened
A secret report codenamed Project Fish, compiled by former MI6 Russia desk chief Christopher Steele, alleges that Russian intelligence considered Lord Peter Mandelson a privileged contact and one of its most significant achievements in manipulating UK politics over 30 years.
Mandelson, one of the most powerful figures in British Labour politics and a close architect of Tony Blair’s government, later served as Britain’s ambassador to the United States before resigning amid scandal.
The dossier was seen by The Telegraph.
Sources close to Mandelson have denied the allegations, stating he never passed information to Russia or acted improperly.
What the Dossier Said
Project Fish described Mandelson in unambiguous terms. According to the document:
"Sources claim that Mandelson is considered to be one of the most significant RIS achievements in manipulating UK politics over the last three decades. The KGB opened its file on Mandelson in the Soviet era when he served as the Labour Party's Director of Communications (1985-1990). He was contacted by the KGB for the first time in about 1990 and since then has become a privileged contact for Russian intelligence, first as a promising Labour functionary, then as a key member of Blair's inner circle before getting elected to Parliament and becoming a senior politician in his own right."
Who Is Christopher Steele
Christopher Steele spent more than two decades as an intelligence officer for MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service, where he served as head of the Russia desk. After leaving government service, he founded Orbis Business Intelligence, a private firm specializing in Russian affairs.
He became a globally recognized figure in 2017 when he was named as the author of a controversial dossier alleging that members of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign had conspired with Russia and that the Kremlin held compromising material on Trump.
The CIA dismissed the dossier as little more than an internet rumor, and a US inspector general report found the FBI could corroborate only limited information from it. Trump called it fake and politically motivated. It later emerged that Hillary Clinton’s campaign had helped fund the dossier through intermediaries.
Was Mandelson a Russian Agent?
The dossier stops short of calling Mandelson a Russian agent. It does not present evidence that he ever passed classified information to Moscow or was formally recruited.
What Project Fish alleges is that Russian intelligence viewed him as a privileged contact, someone whose career, relationships, and vulnerabilities were systematically monitored and cultivated.
The KGB reportedly opened a file on him during the Soviet era, tracking him from Labour functionary to Blair’s inner circle to EU trade commissioner. His role at Russian conglomerate Sistema and his friendship with sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska are cited as points of sustained Russian interest and potential leverage.
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