Starmer Condemns Mandelson Over Cabinet Leaks To Epstein

Peter Mandelson “let his country down” by allegedly passing highly-sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein when he was a cabinet minister, Keir Starmer has said.

The former Labour peer is now facing a police probe following the publication of previously-secret documents last week by the US Department of Justice.

They appear to show Mandelson, who was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government between 2008 and 2010, pledging to lobby ministers about possibly watering down the bankers’ bonus tax.

One email also appears to show Mandelson confirming to Epstein, a convicted paedophile, an imminent bailout for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.

Elsewhere in the files released by the US Department of Justice, bank statements appear to show Mandelson received $75,000 in three separate payments from Epstein in 2003 and 2004.

Mandelson quit the Labour Party over the scandal on Sunday night and is now facing government moves to strip him of his peerage.

At the weekly meeting of the cabinet in 10 Downing Street this morning, Starmer said he was “appalled” by the Mandelson revelations.

The PM’s spokesman said: “He said the alleged passing on of emails of highly sensitive government business was disgraceful, adding that he was not reassured that the totality of the information had yet emerged.”

Starmer said the government would co-operate with the police in any inquiries they carried out into claims Mandelson may have broken laws on conduct in public office, and the passing on of market sensitive information.

He also told cabinet the government was moving “at pace” to remove Mandelson’s peerage, including drawing up legislation which could potentially be passed within days.

The spokesman added: “The prime minister said that Peter Mandelson had let his country down. He added the public don’t really see individuals in this scandal, they see politicians.

“For the public to see politicians saying they can’t recall receiving significant sums of money was just gobsmacking, causing them to lose faith in all politicians and weaken trust still further.

“The prime minister said that was why moving quickly on this matter was vital.”

The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Monday night that it was assessing complaints about whether Mandelson had broken the law by passing information to Epstein, who died in a police cell in 2019.

No.10 confirmed that the Cabinet Office has now passed on the original email communications to assess whether Mandelson broke the law.

The PM’s spokesman said: “An initial review of the documents released in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the US Department of Justice has found that they contain likely market sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash and official activities thereafter to stabilise the economy.

“Only people operating in an official capacity had access to this information and strict handling conditions to ensure it was not available to anyone whio could potentially benefit from it financially.

“It appears these safeguards were compromised. In light iof this information the Cabinet Office has referred this material to the police.

“It is rightly for the police to determine whether to investigate. The government stands ready to provide whatever support and assistance they need.”