Keir Starmer has accused disgraced politician Peter Mandelson of “betraying his country” and repeatedly lying to get the job as Britain's Washington ambassador.
The Jeffrey Epstein saga has become deeply damaging to the British Prime Minister’s own authority after he admitted to parliament that he knew Mr Mandelson had continued his relationship with the paedophile financier after Epstein's release from jail on a child prostitution conviction.
The case has spiralled into a full-blown political crisis for Downing Street, engulfing Labour’s upper ranks, with Mr Starmer fighting accusations of catastrophic misjudgement.
PM's Epstein knowledge
The affair centres on Mr Mandelson’s short-lived tenure as US ambassador last year, an appointment that Mr Starmer admitted he “regretted” in an extraordinary exchange during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, asked whether or not he had been told of Mr Mandelson’s continued relationship with Epstein.
“Can the Prime Minister tell us, did the official security vetting he received mention Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein?” she asked.
To some gasps and groans in the Commons chamber, Mr Starmer replied: “Yes it did. As a result, various questions were put to him.”
He then stated that Downing Street would provide “full documentation” so that people could understand “the extent to which time and time again Mandelson completely misrepresented the extent of his relationship with Epstein and lied throughout the process”.
Police investigate
The Metropolitan Police are now investigating the case with the possibility that Mr Mandelson will be questioned over the leaking of key financial information to Epstein while he was business secretary in the UK government in 2008.
This could lead to criminal charges such as “misconduct in a public office”.
“To learn that there was a Cabinet minister leaking sensitive information at the height of the response to the 2008 crash is beyond infuriating,” Mr Starmer told MPs. “Mandelson betrayed our country, our parliament and my party. He lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador.”
Authority ebbing
But that position is a sharp contrast to Mr Starmer stating in parliament last year that he retained “full confidence” in Mr Mandelson despite mounting questions over his Epstein association, until sustained political pressure forced his dismissal in September.
Ms Badenoch seized on that reversal, arguing it exposed fatal weaknesses in his authority stating that it “goes to the very heart of this Prime Minister’s judgment”.
Mr Starmer has faced near constant talk of leadership challenges that to date he has managed to fend off. A nascent rebellion by his former deputy Angela Rayner saw him make concessions on how much to reveal of Mr Mandelson's vetting process last year.
It was a situation forced by the Conservatives, using a parliamentary mechanism called a “humble address” to demand the release of all documents relating to Mr Mandelson’s appointment, including emails and WhatsApp messages.
Mr Starmer had earlier insisted that any documents damaging to national security or international relationships would be withheld. Now a senior committee of parliament is set to screen the materials.
The Prime Minister had earlier this week received backing for his decisive move to strip Mr Mandelson of his peerage in the House of Lords, and told MPs on Wednesday that he was taking legislative steps so that he can no longer be referred to as a “Lord”.
He added that after a conversation with King Charles III, the disgraced politician would be removed from the Privy Council of advisers, which allows holders to be addressed as “The Right Honourable” and gives them access to sensitive information.
When Mr Starmer came to power he pledged “we will clean up our politics and restore trust in government” and “professionalism and accountability will be the foundations of everything we do”.
The scandal is deeply damaging to the Labour Party as Mr Mandelson, nicknamed the “master of the dark arts” for his media manipulation skills, also served former prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
Associations with Epstein have already destroyed many reputations, including that of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew.
