Pat McFadden, the welfare secretary, has called on Peter Mandelson to hand back the payout he received after quitting as ambassador to the US last year. The payment, reported to be as much as £55,000, is equivalent to three months' salary.
Mandelson resigned in September after further details emerged about his relationship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He later said he would stand down from the House of Lords following the publication of emails suggesting a closer relationship than previously thought. The Foreign Office, which is reviewing the payment, said his employment was terminated in accordance with legal advice and his contract terms, adding that officials believed they had no legal option but to pay.
McFadden, a former ministerial ally of Mandelson, said he was dismayed by the emails showing Mandelson passing sensitive government information to Epstein. Despite this, he insisted that Prime Minister Keir Starmer should remain in post, arguing that frequent changes of prime minister harm the economy and the country’s international reputation.
The pressure on Starmer intensified as Steve Wright, head of the Fire Brigades Union, became the first Labour-affiliated union leader to call for his resignation. Meanwhile, some Labour MPs are urging Starmer to sack his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who personally pushed for Mandelson’s appointment to Washington.
