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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has agreed to allow full scrutiny of documents related to Peter Mandelson's appointment as the UK ambassador to the United States, following mounting pressure from rebel MPs within his own Labour Party, Politico reported.
According to Politico, Starmer had earlier pledged to release material linked to Mandelson's nomination but proposed national security and international relations exemptions. However, on late Wednesday, the UK government agreed to refer all relevant documents to the UK Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee after Labour Party MPs threatened to rebel during a House of Commons vote. During Prime Minister's Questions in the Parliament, Starmer sharply criticised Mandelson, stating that the former Labour peer had "lied repeatedly" to his team during the vetting process, as reported by Politico. Starmer said official security checks revealed Mandelson's continued association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, about which Mandelson was questioned before taking up his role in Washington. "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," the UK PM said, as quoted by Politico. Starmer said MPs deserved to see the extent to which Mandelson had misrepresented his relationship with Epstein, including during due diligence checks and also announced that Mandelson would be stripped of his membership of the Privy Council, as reported by Politico. The controversy has placed renewed focus on Starmer's judgement. Conservative shadow Cabinet minister Alex Burghart said in the House of Commons that the prime minister's decision-making was being called into serious question, adding it was becoming increasingly difficult to rely on his judgement, as reported by Politico. Discontent has also grown within Labour ranks, with MPs describing Mandelson's appointment as a serious error, Politico reported. The Conservatives had demanded disclosure of due diligence material sent to Downing Street, conflict-of-interest declarations relating to Mandelson's work in Russia and China, and correspondence between Mandelson, ministers, and the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney. The government had initially accepted the request with exclusions for sensitive material, but it later agreed that such documents would instead be reviewed by the Intelligence and Security Committee. Some Labour MPs rejected the idea that the government could oversee its own disclosures, warning against what they described as a potential cover-up. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that Mandelson is under investigation for alleged misconduct in public office, following reports that he may have shared sensitive government discussions with Epstein during the financial crisis, as Politico reported. Starmer said police had contacted the government to flag issues that could prejudice the ongoing investigation. Mandelson has previously acknowledged that his continued association with Epstein was a serious mistake and has apologised to Epstein's victims. He has since resigned from the House of Lords and left the Labour Party following the release of further correspondence linked to the Epstein files, as reported by Politico. (ANI)
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