Keir Starmer says Peter Mandelson ‘lied and lied’ over Epstein as backlash mounts
Downing Street was tonight battling to contain the scandal amid a backlash over a slew of fresh revelations about Peter Mandelson’s friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein
Keir Starmer said Peter Mandelson repeatedly lied over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A furious Keir Starmer today blasted Peter Mandelson for repeatedly lying about his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein during the vetting process to become US ambassador.
However, the Prime Minister admitted he appointed Lord Mandelson to the role despite being told by officials about his ongoing friendship with the convicted sex offender.
Downing Street was tonight battling to contain the scandal amid a backlash over a slew of fresh revelations about the Labour veteran. The PM was also forced into a climbdown by MPs, led by Angela Rayner, over the release of files about Lord Mandelson’s appointment.
The peer was sacked in September over his links with Epstein, who died in 2019. But his relationship with the disgraced financier following a 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor had been reported before he was named as ambassador in 2024.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer launches blistering attack on Peter Mandelson – ‘he betrayed Britain’READ MORE: Keir Starmer to publish files on Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to US
Tonight, the Met Police said it asked No10 not to publish certain documents that risked undermining a criminal probe into misconduct in public office claims. It comes after emails released in the US suggested Lord Mandelson leaked market-sensitive information to billionaire Epstein while in Gordon Brown’s government.
At a fraught Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Mr Starmer said: “To learn that there was a Cabinet minister leaking sensitive information at the height of the response to the 2008 crash is beyond infuriating, and I am as angry as the public and any member of this House.
“Mandelson betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party. Mr Speaker, he lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador. I regret appointing him.
“If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.” He also said Lord Mandelson would be stripped of his role as privy councillor, and No10 is drawing up legislation to remove his peerage.
Mr Starmer told the Commons the scale and extent of the relationship between Mandelson and Epstein was not disclosed. The Prime Minister said: “Mandelson lied throughout the process and beyond the process.” He added: “He lied, he lied and he lied again to my team.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch – who has led the parliamentary push for papers relating to the appointment to be disclosed – repeatedly asked the PM if he knew Lord Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein had continued after the conviction.
She said: “Can the Prime Minister tell us did the official security vetting he received mention Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein?” Mr Starmer replied: “Yes it did. As a result, various questions were put to him.”
A No10 source said: “Before Peter Mandelson was appointed, there had been reports that linked him with Jeffrey Epstein, including after he was first convicted. This was looked into as part of the appointment process, as the Prime Minister referenced today. Peter Mandelson lied to the Prime Minister, hid information that has since come to light and presented Epstein as someone he barely knew.”
The Prime Minister had ordered the publication of records – emails, documents and messages – unless they were deemed prejudicial to national security or could damage diplomatic relations. But hours before the vote, MPs threatened to revolt amid concern the move would give the Government power to decide on the disclosure of evidence.
Angela Rayner and senior backbencher Meg Hillier led calls for Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) to scrutinise the files instead, in a sign of the grim mood on the Labour benches. Ms Rayner is understood to have intervened due to fears the original plan wouldn’t wash with the public or MPs.
After the motion was approved, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “Peter Mandelson’s actions were unforgivable. He lied to the Prime Minister, hid information that has since come to light and presented Jeffrey Epstein as someone he barely knew. We will comply with the motion, including publishing documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment, which will show the lies he told.”
MPs welcomed the concession but several suggested it had come too late. One MP said: “I’m not sure if this changes the mood much. Rayner saved the day again, PM and [Morgan] McSweeney were not involved in this.
“I think those that are loyalist to the PM will remain loyalist to the PM. I think those that have never been impressed will remain unimpressed.”
Another MP said: “The amendment pulls power back into Parliament, where there will be accountability. It is a serious committee which will do its work.”
A third MP said: “I’d suggest the seat belt signs have flicked back on because there is going to be an extended period of turbulence, and the passengers are not entirely sure the pilots are trained to navigate this weather, or that pilots are in fact in the cockpit at all.”
A Labour source said: “The mood is really bad. It felt like over Christmas things had settled down. But it’s always a bit like walking on thin ice. It feels a bit like a powder keg.”
Mandelson has not commented publicly since the police launched their investigation. But the former Labour peer has maintained that he has not acted criminally, did not act for personal gain and will cooperate with the police.
