Keir Starmer has handed a dossier on Peter Mandelson to the police and will legislate to strip the disgraced former minister of his peerage, after reports that he leaked market-sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein at the height of the financial crisis. The prime minister told his cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning he was “appalled” by the reported leaks and had also asked officials to draft legislation to strip Mandelson of his peerage “as quickly as possible”.
The Cabinet Office has sent the Metropolitan Police details about emails from the then-business secretary to the child sex offender. Fresh disclosures from the Epstein files appear to show Mandelson sent a string of emails to the late financier containing confidential information that the government was receiving to deal with the global crash while he was business secretary under Gordon Brown. The Cabinet Office said an initial review found “they contain likely market sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash”.
Starmer told cabinet that Mandelson had “let his country down”. His spokesperson added: “The public don’t really see individuals in this scandal, they see politicians... The prime minister said that was why moving quickly in this matter was vital.” The prime minister has asked officials to draft legislation to strip Mandelson of his peerage – the first time that would have occurred since 1917. He regards it as “ridiculous that a peerage cannot be removed except with primary legislation”.
Emails forwarded to Epstein from the very top of the UK government include a confidential document intended for the prime minister outlining a potential £20bn in asset sales, and early confirmation of an imminent bailout package for the euro. The European Commission also said on Tuesday it would look into whether Mandelson had broken its code of conduct while he was EU commissioner between 2004 and 2008. Mandelson appears to have been sent three separate payments of $25,000 (£18,000) by Epstein in 2003 and 2004, though the peer said he had no recollection of the payments.
