Ben Wegg-Prosser, the co-founder of Global Counsel and a former director of strategic communications at No 10, stepped down from his role in early February as his firm spiraled toward insolvency. Administrators for the lobbying firm have now revealed that Global Counsel went bust owing a staggering £4.6 million. Among the creditors is the British taxman, who is owed more than £600,000, according to a report by the group’s administrators. The collapse follows devastating revelations that Peter Mandelson sought advice from the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on setting up the business in 2010. The firm’s demise marks the end of a premiere influence-peddling operation that sat at the heart of the New Labour establishment.

The files suggest Mandelson’s firm was wrestling with more than just debt. Olly Robbins, a former senior civil servant, reportedly refused to give a vetting summary on Mandelson to the Cabinet Office, according to statements by Cat Little. The pressure on Keir Starmer has intensified as questions mount over whether he was misled about the vetting process for the peer. This is the classic mechanism of the "Ghost Elite": an intricate web of consultants and lobbyists who trade on their proximity to power until the ledger finally catches up with them. The £4.6 million debt is the final receipt for a decade of backroom deals and Epstein-adjacent advice. While the firm went bust, the political damage to the current government continues to radiate.