MPs have approved the release of documents about Lord Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US, after angry Labour backbenchers forced a government climbdown over plans to withhold some material.
Sir Keir Starmer told a dramatic Commons session he wanted to release the files – which could show what the government knew about Lord Mandelson’s relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein – but insisted he would not publish anything that could damage national security or diplomatic relations.
That position unravelled after senior Labour figures, including former deputy leader Angela Rayner, urged ministers to change course, forcing the government to agree to involve a cross-party parliamentary committee in the process.
The prime minister has been under pressure to disclose the files after police launched a criminal investigation into claims Lord Mandelson passed sensitive government information to Epstein.
Lord Mandelson was sacked as ambassador last year after new revelations about his friendship with Epstein came to light.
Emails released by the US Department of Justice appear to confirm Lord Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein continued, and even flourished, after the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir told the Commons he was misled about the “sheer depth and extent” of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein.
“He lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador. I regret appointing him,” he said.
“If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.”
The prime minister added he was aware of the former business secretary’s ongoing friendship with Epstein, a convicted paedophile who died in 2019, when he appointed him last year, adding fuel to the already simmering fury on the Labour backbenches.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the government of trying to “sabotage” the disclosure process, adding: “This is not about national security, this is about his job security.”
Later, a dramatic debate in the Commons ended with MPs backing proposals to release the Mandelson documents without a vote.
Sir Keir had agreed to a Conservative demand to release some papers about Lord Mandelson’s appointment and the “due diligence” conducted by No 10 beforehand.
But some MPs were furious that some documents might be withheld on national security grounds, with some accusing the government of a cover up.
In a last-minute concession towards the end of the debate, after Rayner and several other Labour MPs intervened, the government agreed that sensitive documents would be referred to Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC).
That it was Rayner who led the opposition demonstrated the power the former deputy prime minister has on the party’s backbenches, and reminded Downing Street she is willing to wield it.
