‘You’ve dragged us into the gutter’: Labour fury at Starmer over Mandelson debacle as dodging PM faces grilling TODAY on papers showing he ignored warnings about Epstein links
Keir Starmer is struggling to contain Labor’s anger today after bombshell documents revealed he ignored a series of warnings about Mandelson.
The Prime Minister will finally face questions about the damning material after facing a backlash from junior ministers in the House of Commons yesterday.
Newspapers showed that government investigations had highlighted Mandelson’s ‘close’ friendship with Jeffrey Epstein before he became US ambassador.
Jonathan Powell, the State Department’s top official and national security adviser, also expressed concerns about the process.
While Kemi Badenoch called on Labor MPs to sack Sir Keir, backbenchers accused the prime minister of ‘dragging the party into a ditch’.
But Cabinet ally Nick Thomas-Symonds insisted this morning that the Prime Minister took ‘full responsibility’ for appointing Mandelson and ‘deeply regretted’ the decision.
The government has vowed to release extensive information about Mandelson after MPs rebelled at a House of Commons vote last month.
Keir Starmer will finally face questions about damning material after facing backlash from junior ministers in the House of Commons yesterday
Lord Mandelson was filmed in London yesterday. He denied any criminal duty or acting for personal gain
Newspapers showed government investigation highlighted Mandelson’s ‘close’ friendship with Jeffrey Epstein (pictured together) before he became US ambassador
A memo written by a senior No10 aide revealed the Director of Communications was ‘delighted’ with Mandelson’s responses to his contact with Epstein
A three-page ‘due diligence’ report submitted to Sir Keir on December 11 flagged links between Mandelson and Epstein
Initially, Sir Keir tried to put the Cabinet Secretary in charge of deciding what could be published, but was handed this task over to Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee.
The documents confirm that Sir Keir was aware when he appointed Mandelson in December 2024 that his friendship with pedophile financier Epstein continued after he was convicted.
In December 2024, a note from a senior aide to the prime minister said Sir Keir and his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney had expressed a “preference for a political candidate” to be ambassador to Washington, with Mandelson the “leading candidate”.
It was stated that then-Director of Communications Matthew Doyle was ‘satisfied’ with Mandelson’s responses regarding his relationship with Epstein.
A three-page ‘due diligence’ report submitted to Sir Keir on 11 December 2024 flagged links between Mandelson and Epstein.
It referred to reports that Epstein had a “particularly close relationship with Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Lord Peter Mandelson” and stated that their contacts continued throughout the 2000s.
The summary stated: ‘Following Epstein’s first conviction for procuring an underage girl in 2008, their relationship continued between 2009 and 2011; It began when Lord Mandelson was Business Secretary and continued after the end of the Labor government.
‘Mandelson reportedly stayed at Epstein’s home while he was in prison in June 2009.’
It was also stated that in 2014, Mandelson “agreed to become a ‘founding citizen’ of an ocean conservation group founded by Ghislaine Maxwell and financed by Epstein.”
Downing Street insisted the ongoing police investigation into Mandelson meant it could not reveal details of what questions the peer was asked.
The government agreed a framework with the Metropolitan Police within which documents could be released without damaging the ongoing police investigation into the peer.
Mandelson, who was sacked as US ambassador in September last year after parts of Epstein’s personal emails were leaked, was awarded £75,000 in compensation.
The disgraced former Cabinet minister had apparently claimed £547,000 in compensation for the loss of his £161,000-a-year job and threatened legal action.
Although the Prime Minister claimed in Parliament that Mandelson had ‘lied’ during the investigation, the government privately assessed that there was no evidence of ‘misconduct that would give rise to normal disciplinary proceedings’.
Labour’s ambassador was given a £75,000 bounty when he was sacked as US ambassador over his friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, documents show
Mandelson appears to be seeking payment of £547,000, newspapers say
Olly Robbins, permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, wrote of the package: ‘This represents good value for money.’ Other officials congratulated each other on receiving the sum ‘so low’, which included £34,000 in severance pay and notice pay.
Extraordinarily, Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray said he was ‘happy’ to sign off on the payment.
Mr Thomas-Symonds told Sky News this morning: ‘Obviously I share the moral outrage that Peter Mandelson still has that £75,000.
‘You can now look at the documents and see why this decision was made on the basis of value for money. The original request of £547,000 was negotiated down to £75,000…
‘But from a moral perspective, it is incredibly difficult to imagine that money is still being held.
‘So I would say, do the right thing, do the honorable thing, donate the money to charity. And I think maybe a charity supporting the victims would be appropriate.’
Lord Mandelson was arrested on February 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, accused of passing sensitive information to Epstein during his time as business secretary under Gordon Brown.
He was later released on bail, but later returned his passport and was released under investigation. He denied any criminal wrongdoing or acting for personal gain.
