2 min read03 February

Mandelson, a former Labour cabinet minister, announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down from the House of Lords after he was accused of passing sensitive information to Epstein when he was business secretary in 2009 in Gordon Brown’s government, following the release of files by the US Department of Justice.

However, he will retain the title of peer despite stepping down from Parliament, meaning Prime Minister Keir Starmer will need to introduce legislation to remove it. 

Earlier today, Downing Street said Starmer had asked officials to draw up legislation “as quickly as possible”. This would be the first time an Act of Parliament has been used to do this since 1917. 

On Monday night, the Metropolitan Police said they were reviewing reports of alleged misconduct in public office by Mandelson.

Meanwhile, Downing Street has said the Cabinet Office has referred material to the police after reviewing the Epstein files documents. 

Addressing his cabinet this morning, Starmer said he was “appalled” by the latest revelations about Mandelson.

“He [the PM] 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,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.

They added that Starmer said Mandelson had “let his country down”.

In newly released material, Mandelson encourages a JP Morgan boss to “mildly threaten” the former chancellor, Alistair Darling, over his decision to increase tax on bankers’ bonuses. The files also show Mandelson sharing with Epstein information about the potential sale of UK government assets, as well as confirmation that a euro bailout was coming.

The PM’s own judgement is coming under renewed scrutiny, however, with Starmer having appointed Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US before sacking him over his links to Epstein in September.