Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is facing pressure from the SNP to release all private correspondence with Lord Peter Mandelson after Sarwar said it was right for Mandelson to quit the party over his ties to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
SNP Westminster deputy leader Pete Wishart challenged Sarwar to come clean, citing a “deep and sustained friendship” with Mandelson. Wishart demanded disclosure of all emails, private messages, and a full minute of an April 2025 meeting after which Sarwar reportedly called Mandelson an “old friend”. He also called for information Mandelson allegedly gave Sarwar in October 2024 to be made public.
Sarwar had earlier stated that people would be “horrified” by details in the latest batch of Epstein files. He insisted Mandelson’s resignation from Labour was appropriate but said removal from the House of Lords would require legislation, not a simple political decision.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has asked Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald to review all available information about Mandelson’s contacts with Epstein during his time as a government minister. Downing Street said Starmer believes Mandelson should not be a peer or use the title, but lacks power to strip the peerage.
Court documents released in the US reveal an email from 2009 in which Mandelson, then business secretary, appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby ministers on a bankers’ bonus tax. Bank statements from 2003-2004 show payments totalling $75,000 from Epstein, and Epstein allegedly paid for an osteopathy course for Mandelson’s husband.
