The Conservative Party has written to Sir Keir Starmer demanding answers over the extent of Downing Street’s knowledge of Lord Mandelson’s links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The Tories also called for the prime minister to release documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment, including evidence showing how No 10 reacted when they learned of his ties to Epstein.
The BBC reported on Sunday that Sir Keir explicitly asked Mandelson about his links to the paedophile before deciding to appoint him as ambassador to the US.
Mandelson was sacked last week after a cache of emails reported by Bloomberg showed supportive messages he sent after Epstein pleaded guilty to sex offences.
In the letter to the prime minister, Tory MP Alex Burghart questioned what and when Sir Keir knew of Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein before defending the former ambassador during Prime Minister’s Questions last Wednesday.
He said that the scandal had exposed the PM’s “appalling judgement”.
“He ignored warnings about Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, forced through his appointment, and is avoiding scrutiny about what he knew,” Burghart wrote.
The Conservative MP’s letter also demanded the release of what he called the “Mandelson-Epstein Files” – government correspondence and internal documents related to the pair – and for Sir Keir and his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney to give evidence to Parliament.
Downing Street have already stressed that the prime minister only knew the contents of the emails on Wednesday evening and acted swiftly, sacking Mandelson within hours.
This scandal, following so soon after Angela Rayner’s resignation as deputy prime minister, has encouraged some Labour MPs to become more vocal in their criticism of the prime minister.
Labour MP Helen Hayes told BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour on Sunday that if the scandal were to affect the party’s chances in next year’s local elections in May, there would be questions about Sir Keir’s leadership.
“If those elections don’t go well, then that will be the time to ask questions… questions about the nature of the leadership and whether things can continue as they are, but we’re not at that point now,” she said.
Hayes added that she felt “devastated” about Mandelson, but said she believed he should not have been appointed in the first place.
“I think there is a question about how frank he [Mandelson] was in the original vetting process. If he was not frank about that association, then that should be dealt with and his ability to speak as a Labour peer should be taken away from him.”
Mandelson has repeatedly expressed regret about his relationship with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019.
Over the weekend, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the prime minister of lying to the public and said he had “very serious questions to answer”.