Mandelson’s US job appointment details set for release amid Epstein fallout

Papers on Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US will be released by Sir Keir Starmer after the former minister’s dealings with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein led to a criminal probe and his departure from the House of Lords.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is seeking to force the Government to release all documents showing how Lord Mandelson got the Washington job, including messages exchanged with key figures in Sir Keir’s inner circle including chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and top ministers.

The Government will agree to release the requested information unless it is ”prejudicial to UK national security or international relations”.

Lord Mandelson, a political appointment rather than a career diplomat, was sacked in September last year over his links with Epstein.

Mrs Badenoch has tabled a humble address motion in the Commons, an arcane parliamentary mechanism to try to compel the Government to release documents including due diligence work carried out by the Cabinet Office, emails between Lord Mandelson and his ally Mr McSweeney and details of the severance payment made to the peer after he was fired.

The Government’s amendment, agreeing to release the papers except for anything which would jeopardise security or diplomatic ties, appears to accept the level of anger on the Labour benches about the Mandelson affair, which could have led to a revolt if MPs were whipped to oppose the release of papers.

Lord Mandelson has quit the upper chamber and faces a Metropolitan Police investigation for alleged misconduct in public office after files released by the US Department of Justice appeared to show internal government information on the response to the global financial crisis in 2009 was sent to Epstein.

Cabinet minister Wes Streeting said there was a sense of betrayal about Lord Mandelson’s actions.

He told Times Radio: “You can see the outrage across the political spectrum and from people up and down our country.

“I cannot state strongly enough how bitterly that betrayal feels for those of us in the Labour Party who feel very personally let down and also feel that he, as well as betraying two prime ministers, betraying our country and betraying Epstein’s victims, has fundamentally betrayed our values and the things that motivate us and the things that brought us into politics, which is public service and national interest, not self-service and self-interest.”

Former prime minister Gordon Brown, who made Lord Mandelson his business secretary, said he had provided the Met with “relevant” information relating to Lord Mandelson’s “inexcusable and unpatriotic act”.

Lord Mandelson has been approached for comment and while he has yet to speak publicly, the BBC said it understood he maintains he did not act criminally and that his actions were not for personal gain.

The BBC reported Lord Mandelson argues he had sought Epstein’s expertise in the national interest ahead of the financial crisis.

Lord Mandelson returned to the political frontline when Sir Keir appointed him to the Washington role, seeking a high-profile figure to deal with Donald Trump’s White House.

The appointment was made despite Lord Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein being known, although the full extent of their contact has only been revealed through a series of disclosures by the US authorities.

Mr Streeting said there are “clearly lessons to be learned, to put it mildly” about the process by which Lord Mandelson was appointed.

He insisted the Government was showing “transparency” by allowing the release of documents and he suggested Lord Mandelson should return the severance payment he was handed after losing his job.

The Press Association understands officials are already working through a “huge amount” of material to assess what will be released.

Mrs Badenoch demanded Downing Street explain the vetting process as she claimed concerns were “waved away” so that the Prime Minister could make “a political appointment of a man who is a close friend of a convicted paedophile”.

Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake told the Press Association: “We wouldn’t expect them to reveal anything that compromised national security.

“But that cannot be a smokescreen for not releasing key information that would embarrass the Government, embarrass Keir Starmer.”

The Metropolitan Police on Tuesday evening said it had launched an investigation into the former government minister for misconduct in public office offences, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Cabinet Office had passed material to the police after an initial review of documents released by the US Department of Justice as part of the Epstein files found they contained “likely market-sensitive information” and official handling safeguards had been “compromised”.

Emails from 2009 released in the Epstein Files appear to show Lord Mandelson shared sensitive information on at least four occasions, including an assessment by Mr Brown’s adviser of potential policy measures including an “asset sales plan”.

Meanwhile, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has moved from Royal Lodge in Windsor to a property on the King’s Sandringham estate, the Press Association understands.

It comes as police said they were assessing allegations that a woman was sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew.