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Neil O'Brien Profile picture
@NeilDotObrien
Feb 7 • 11 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
MANDELSON / CHINA THREAD

As @lukedepulford and @MsMelChen have pointed out, Pater Mandelson had deep links to the Chinese regime.

Over many years he's been the leading voice for the CCP in the UK.
A quick 🧵
For example, when warnings on Huawei's control of our telecoms infrastructure were mounting, Mandelson accused the US of “fomenting hysteria” and warned Europe not to join an “economic and technological iron curtain” around China.
theguardian.com/technology/201…
He's always been quick to make the argument that we needed to get closer to an increasingly "preeminent" China: Image
It was also hist business. Mandelson co-founded Global Counsel. Its client list has included Chinese giants like TikTok and Shein. But he also had at least one Chinese state-owned company as a client.
In 2024, Global Counsel signed a $3m contract to advise WuXi AppTec after it was swept into a US national-security crackdown.
That is who Mandelson’s firm was helping in Europe.
theguardian.com/politics/2025/…
Now we learn from emails that Global Counsel chased a long, lucrative communications mandate from China International Capital Corporation, a state-owned player.
theguardian.com/politics/2026/…
In 2021 Mandelson chaired a Europe-China business dialogue arranged with CCPIT – described by China experts as part of Beijing’s influence machinery.
The Communist Party’s own readout records Mandelson meeting Liu Jianchao, the Party’s international chief, in Beijing.
idcpc.org.cn/english2023/bz…
Mandelson was listed as a “current fellow” of the 48 Group Club – a secretive network long accused of echoing CCP messaging.
freedomhouse.org/country/united…
Recently as ambassador, he has been "selling" the Chagos deal to the US, despite concerns that the deal will lead to much greater Chinese influence and intel on the US base there.
In the Times recently Mandelson boasted about getting the US onside: Image
Still, Starmer chose this man & waved him through.
As part of the investigation into his time as ambassador we need answers: every Chinese client, every meeting, every role.
(End of thread)

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More from @NeilDotObrien

Neil O'Brien Profile picture
Oct 18, 2025
There are so many explosive revelations here it's hard to know where to start. The bags of cash obviously take the headline but the behaviour of Ministers is the really shocking thing.

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Should primary school kids be taught about polyamory, the fetish spectrum & how to get breast binders? Should we tell kids puberty blockers are “reversible” & risk free? Teach 8 year olds about masturbation?
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Neil O'Brien Profile picture
Mar 28, 2025
Via FOI request I have obtained a large new dataset on the extent to which students at different universities & colleges pay back their student loans.
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The map below shows the share of child sex convictions where the offender's ethnicity wasn't recorded. The variation is huge.
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Neil O'Brien Profile picture
Jan 6, 2025
I have a new piece on the Schools Bill, which will be debated on Wednesday.
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The Bill will hit the pay of good teachers, making it harder to keep great people in the profession.

Good trusts are making back office savings to pay good teachers more. But the Bill will abolish their freedom to do that. Image
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