AN advisory firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson collapsed into administration today in the wake of the “maelstrom” caused by his relationship to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Global Counsel said it had stopped trading and that the majority of its roughly 80 staff in Britain have been made redundant.

Administrators at Interpath have been appointed for the London-based lobbying business, which said it suffered a significant financial impact from a swathe of customers cutting ties.

This left directors with no choice but to bring in administrators, it said, despite the firm recently saying that Lord Mandelson no longer had any role or influence over it.

In a statement posted on social networking site LinkedIn, Global Counsel said it had asked a court to appoint Interpath as administrator “to take control of and realise the assets of the company.”

It said: “The continuing maelstrom of political and media attention surrounding Peter Mandelson has made it challenging to continue with the business in its current form.

“While today’s Global Counsel has no connection with Peter Mandelson, his role as a co-founder and his conduct, particularly in its early years, has indelibly coloured the way Global Counsel is seen in the outside world.”

Barclays, Tesco and Klarna are reportedly among those to recently end contracts, while Vodafone put its own under review, after the so-called Epstein files were released by US authorities.

Interpath UK chief executive and joint administrator Will Wright said: “While Global Counsel had grown over the past 15 years to become one of the UK’s leading public affairs consultancies, the rapid and sudden loss of clients over recent weeks has had a monumental impact on the business.”