Starmer faces MPs’ fury over Mandelson scandal

Sir Keir Starmer is facing a Labour revolt over his handling of the Lord Mandelson scandal.

The Prime Minister sacked his ambassador to the US just seven months into his tenure, after emails urging Jeffrey Epstein to fight for early release from jail revealed the “depth and extent” of their friendship.

His dismissal came after The Telegraph also revealed that Lord Mandelson worked with Epstein on a £1bn business deal after his conviction.

Downing Street claimed the sacking was taken “in light of additional information”, despite Lord Mandelson’s friendship with the convicted paedophile being known long before Sir Keir sent him to Washington.

Figures on the Labour Left have raised concerns about the judgment of the Prime Minister, who has now lost a second senior government figure in less than a week after the departure of Angela Rayner.

Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s powerful chief of staff, encouraged him to appoint Lord Mandelson. Downing Street figures also involved in the decision were aware of the Epstein relationship but chose to override the concerns.

The Telegraph also understands Downing Street was informed that two senior members of Donald Trump’s cabinet expressed concerns about Lord Mandelson’s ties to Epstein.

The row threatens to overshadow Mr Trump’s UK state visit next week, with the US president facing controversy over his own links to the paedophile.

Andy Burnham, the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester who is widely tipped to run again for the party leadership, said Sir Keir had questions to answer.

Mr Burnham said: “I wasn’t privy to the vetting process, so I don’t know what was known at the time, and I think people will want to question that now in the hours and days ahead.”

Luke Hurst, national co-ordinator of Mainstream, the new Left-wing Labour group backed by Mr Burnham, said: “Peter Mandelson’s inevitable sackingis what happens when you put your party faction’s interest before your party and before the country.

“If Starmer keeps running a narrow and brittle political project, it will break him and could break the Labour Party.”

Paula Barker, the Labour MP who briefly ran for the deputy position this week, said: “The delay in sacking him has only served to further erode the trust and confidence in our Government and politics in the round. We must be better.”

Other backbenchers were also critical, with Charlotte Nichols saying Lord Mandelson’s sacking was “not immediate enough, unfortunately, as he should never have been appointed in the first place”.

Sadik Al-Hassan, the Labour MP for North Somerset, said there were “serious questions about the vetting process of the ambassador” and called for the officials involved to be sacked.

Labour ministers were forced to take to the airwaves to defend Sir Keir in recent days as the Prime Minister initially stood by the embattled ambassador.

Sir Keir finally acted on Thursday morning after emails obtained by Bloomberg showed that Lord Mandelson advised Epstein to push for early release on the child prostitution conviction in 2008.

Lord Mandelson wrote in one: “You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can.” In another, when Epstein was arrested, he wrote: “Your friends stay with you and love you.”

Despite mounting criticism from Labour MPs, the ambassador refused to resign – a stance that was made clear in a statement issued on Thursday morning from the Foreign Office confirming that Sir Keir had removed him from post.

The statement read: “In light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the Prime Minister has asked the Foreign Secretary to withdraw him as ambassador.

“The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment. In particular, Peter Mandelson’s suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.

“In light of that, and mindful of the victims of Epstein’s crimes, he has been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect.”

Lord Mandelson, who was woken at 5.40am in Washington to news of his sacking, did not hide his dismissal in a message to British embassy staff.

He wrote: “The circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply regret.

“I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims. I have no alternative to accepting the Prime Minister’s decision and will leave a position in which I have been so incredibly honoured to serve.”

The Telegraph can reveal that Baroness Gray, Sir Keir’s first chief of staff, did not have Lord Mandelson on her shortlist for the Washington post and did not consider him appropriate for the position.

Lord Mandelson admitted in his vetting interview that he continued his relationship with Epstein for many years, according to The Times.

Allies said Thursday night that the former ambassador feels ill-treated by Sir Keir’s decision to sack him after he confessed during the vetting prices about his relationship with the paedophile.

But his appointment was pushed by Mr McSweeney, the current Number 10 chief of staff, who is on good terms with Lord Mandelson, when he succeeded Lady Gray in October.

Downing Street dismissed a Sky News report claiming the security services had raised concerns about the appointment, saying Lord Mandelson had been signed off in vetting.

However, at the time he was sent to Washington, the Financial Times had already reported that Lord Mandelson stayed at Epstein’s home after his conviction.

Starmer’s judgment ‘terrible’

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said: “These latest revelations point yet again to the terrible judgment of Keir Starmer and why it is imperative that all documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment are released immediately.”

Sir Keir’s handling of the ambassador’s departure reportedly caused concerns for Mr Trump, Politico reported on Thursday night.

While a White House official played down any such issues, critics warned that the scandal had left the UK exposed ahead of next week’s state visit.

Sir James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary and former foreign secretary, said: “About a week out from the state visit of President Trump, we have no ambassador and a Foreign Secretary who has been in the job for only a few days.”

This marks the third time Lord Mandelson has been forced out of a government job, and sees him leaving the political front line once again amid controversy.

In 1998, Lord Mandelson resigned as Sir Tony Blair’s business secretary after failing to declare an interest-free loan of £373,000 from a colleague.

In 2001, he was forced to resign a second time from the Cabinet, when he quit as Northern Ireland Secretary over claims he helped an Indian businessman with a passport application. An official inquiry later exonerated Lord Mandelson.

James Roscoe, the former communications secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, who is currently the deputy head of mission in the Washington embassy, will become interim ambassador.

Sir Richard Moore, the outgoing chief of MI6, has emerged as one of the early frontrunners to replace Lord Mandelson as British ambassador to the US, according to diplomatic sources.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]