Lord Peter Mandelson was "economical with the truth" when questioned about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein before his appointment as ambassador to Washington, Downing Street sources have said. The Labour grandee was removed from his role on Thursday after emails were published showing he sent supportive messages to Epstein even as the financier faced jail for sex offences.
The emails revealed "new information" and showed "the depth and extent" of Lord Mandelson's relationship with Epstein was "materially different from that known at the time of his appointment", according to Downing Street and the Foreign Office. Before his appointment, the Prime Minister received a file about Lord Mandelson's links to Epstein from the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics Team, which prepared three questions based on it, the PA news agency understands.
Vetting process concerns
Lord Mandelson was asked why he continued contact with Epstein after his conviction, why he reportedly stayed in one of the paedophile financier's homes while Epstein was in prison, and whether he was associated with a charity founded by Ghislaine Maxwell that Epstein had backed. The BBC reported it understands Lord Mandelson believes he was truthful about his association with Epstein and told No 10 he had not stayed at Epstein's apartment while he was in prison in 2009.
However, No 10 sources said Lord Mandelson was "economical with the truth" in his answers to the three questions. A separate vetting process was then carried out by the Foreign Office.
Political fallout intensifies
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused the Prime Minister of lying about what he knew regarding Lord Mandelson's emails. She said Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) has "very serious questions to answer" and called for "full transparency", referring to reports suggesting Downing Street was aware of the emails on Tuesday, two days before Lord Mandelson's removal.
The Foreign Office received a media inquiry outlining details of the messages on Tuesday, which was passed to No 10, the PA news agency understands. A Government source said Sir Oliver Robbins, the permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, asked Lord Mandelson about the emails and did not hear back until Wednesday afternoon.
Timeline of events
The Prime Minister is understood not to have been aware of the contents of the emails until Wednesday evening - after he told the Commons he had "confidence" in Lord Mandelson. The decision to remove Lord Mandelson with immediate effect was taken on Thursday morning and announced shortly afterwards.
Badenoch said in a post on X: "Looks like the Prime Minister and Labour MPs spent the week lying to the whole country about what they knew regarding Mandelson's involvement with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein." The emails were sent from an account which had long been closed and were not available during the vetting process.
Controversial messages revealed
Emails published on Wednesday included passages in which Lord Mandelson told Epstein to "fight for early release" shortly before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He is also reported to have told Epstein "I think the world of you" the day before the disgraced financier began his sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008.
Dame Emily Thornberry, chairwoman of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, has demanded answers from the Foreign Secretary on the vetting process for Lord Mandelson. His friendship with Epstein was known before his appointment, but reports in The Sun and Bloomberg showed their relationship continued after the financier's crimes had emerged.
Pressure mounts on Starmer
The scandal has put pressure on Sir Keir, coming within a week of Angela Rayner's departure and the ensuing Cabinet reshuffle. It has also brought renewed scrutiny of his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who was reported to have lobbied for Lord Mandelson's appointment.
Backbencher Olivia Blake said it was "really embarrassing" if Sir Keir was not told about Lord Mandelson's emails to Epstein soon enough. She told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: "I just think that whoever's gatekeeping the information to the Prime Minister needs to stop. They need to be getting stuff to him much earlier."
Another Labour MP, Clive Lewis, publicly questioned Sir Keir's leadership, telling the BBC the Prime Minister does not seem "up to the job". Labour peer Baroness Harriet Harman said she "never thought it was a good idea" to appoint Lord Mandelson as envoy to Washington, writing in The Mirror: "We have to be on the side of the vulnerable, not backing their abusers."
Sources used: "PA Media", "BBC", "The Times", "The Sun", "Bloomberg", "The Mirror" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
