Epstein crisis engulfs Keir: PM admits he DID know Mandelson had kept in touch with paedophile
Keir Starmer’s premiership was thrown into crisis last night after he admitted bringing back Peter Mandelson despite knowing he remained friends with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
After months of evasion, the Prime Minister was forced to admit that he had appointed his Labor colleague as US ambassador even after the tycoon was convicted of child sex offenses, despite being said by authorities to have remained friends with Epstein.
Downing Street also confirmed that the Prime Minister was aware that Mandelson continued to stay at Epstein’s home while he was in prison and after his release.
It is understood Sir Keir was handed a two-page document by the Cabinet Office ethics team when Mandelson was appointed in late 2024, outlining well-rehearsed issue conflicts and previous scandals.
“Cut and pasted from Google,” all of the Epstein-related matters were publicly available, a source told the Times. this included a 2019 JP Morgan internal report warning that “Jeffrey Epstein appears to have maintained a particularly close relationship with Prince Andrew and Lord Mandelson, a senior member of the British government.”
Details of when New Labor’s architect stayed at the convicted pedophile’s home were also detailed, including in 2009 while Epstein was still in prison.
After months of evasion, the Prime Minister was forced to admit he appointed his Labor colleague as US ambassador despite officials saying he remained friends with Epstein (file image)
It is understood Sir Keir was handed a two-page document by the Cabinet Office ethics team when Mandelson (pictured) is appointed to the role in late 2024 (file image)
It has been suggested that this was the extent of the scrutiny Mandelson faced. During angry clashes in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister said Mandelson had ‘lied’ to him repeatedly and insisted the proper ‘process’ had been followed.
But last night he was facing questions from all sides about his own decision to go ahead with the appointment. Kemi Badenoch, who forced Sir Keir to agree, said his decision to move on was ‘absolutely shocking’.
Yesterday’s admission came after Ms Badenoch invoked a rare Commons procedure to force the Government to release key documents about the controversial appointment.
The Prime Minister said he was willing to release all documents except those related to national security and international relations.
Ms Badenoch said: ‘It was a matter of national security that Mandelson was appointed in the first place… This is not about national security; This is about the Prime Minister’s job security.’
Sir Keir insisted he acted quickly to sack Mandelson last year when it emerged he had advised Epstein to appeal his conviction for soliciting a minor.
Sir Keir insisted he acted quickly to sack Mandelson last year when it emerged he had advised Epstein to appeal his conviction for soliciting a minor. Mandelson is seen here in his underpants inside Jeffrey Epstein’s palatial ‘House of Sin’ in Paris.
Details of when New Labor’s architect stayed at the convicted pedophile’s home, including in 2009 while Epstein was still in prison, were also detailed in a two-page document. (File image: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell pictured)
He told MPs he was ‘as angry as the public’ about his former ally’s behaviour. ‘He repeatedly lied to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein… I regret appointing him.’
Dame Emily Thornberry, chair of Labour’s foreign affairs committee, said the debacle could have been avoided if the Prime Minister had allowed Mandelson to interview MPs like himself rather than rushing through the political appointment.
Jeremy Corbyn’s former number two, Mr John McDonnell, told Sky News the Prime Minister should resign: ‘I never called for him to go but I have lost confidence in him. ‘The decisions regarding Mandelson pushed me to the edge.’
