Angela Rayner Alleges Prime Minister Ignored Her Warning Over Mandelson Appointment
Angela Rayner has made sensational claims that she explicitly warned Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer against appointing the disgraced peer Lord Mandelson as US ambassador, only to have her advice completely disregarded. The former Deputy Prime Minister has reportedly confided in friends that she advised against the appointment due to Mandelson's documented connections with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Rayner's Private Warning and Subsequent Fallout
According to today's Times, Ms Rayner privately cautioned Sir Keir Starmer that selecting Mandelson would be a significant error, pointing to evidence that the architect of New Labour maintained a close relationship with the billionaire financier even after Epstein's 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution. Rayner is said to have informed friends that the Prime Minister chose to ignore her concerns, instead placing trust in Mandelson's assertion that he 'barely knew' the convicted sex offender.
Ms Rayner, the MP for Ashton, was herself forced to resign from her cabinet position last year following revelations that she had underpaid stamp duty by £40,000 on her £800,000 Hove flat. Despite this, she is now widely tipped to mount a political comeback from the backbenches and potentially lead a rebellion against Sir Keir Starmer's leadership.
Gordon Brown's Scathing Condemnation
The controversy has escalated with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown speaking out forcefully about what he termed Mandelson's 'betrayal' to both country and colleagues. In a lengthy interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Brown, who appointed Mandelson as Business Secretary in 2008, accepted personal responsibility for that decision while describing how he had been 'lied to and betrayed' - a situation he believes Starmer has now replicated.
In particularly scathing criticism, Brown labelled Mandelson 'Epstein's enabler' and called for him to testify in the United States, alongside 'the ex Prince Andrew'. He emphasised that Mandelson's greatest betrayal was of 'the women and girls that were trafficked, were exploited and were treated as less than human by Epstein and by Mandelson who became one of his enablers.'
Brown also advocated for the immediate establishment of an anti-corruption commission to address what he described as 'systemic failures' that allowed Mandelson's alleged 'financial crimes' to remain undetected for so long. While expressing support for Starmer as a 'man of integrity', Brown conceded that the Prime Minister had taken 'too long to act' on the Mandelson appointment.
Growing Leadership Speculation and Internal Rivalries
As speculation about the Prime Minister's future intensifies, some MPs reportedly believe it is a matter of when, not if, Sir Keir Starmer will be forced to stand down, with many anticipating he will 'limp on' until after the May local elections. One cabinet minister told The Times that Starmer was so frustrated by his mistake regarding Mandelson's appointment that he might consider resigning, though allies have dismissed this as 'completely untrue'.
The situation has exacerbated the already bitter rivalry between Angela Rayner and Health Minister Wes Streeting, who is widely viewed as her main challenger in any future leadership contest. Rayner's allies have suggested that Streeting could be 'ruined' by the mass disclosure of documents relating to Mandelson, whom Streeting once proudly called his 'mentor'.
A Streeting supporter countered by accusing Rayner's allies of 'seeking to exploit the Epstein scandal to attack Wes', while a cabinet minister supportive of Streeting claimed that Rayner 'would be Labour's Liz Truss' and 'wouldn't be capable of doing the job [of prime minister]'.
Police Investigation and Document Revelations
Lord Mandelson is currently under investigation for possible misconduct in public office, with allegations that he passed market-sensitive and confidential information from Number 10 to Jeffrey Epstein. Police conducted searches of his London and Wiltshire homes yesterday as part of their ongoing inquiries.
The recent release of additional 'Epstein files' by the US Department of Justice appears to show that Mandelson provided the paedophile financier with confidential government documents on at least four occasions between 2009 and 2010 while serving as Business Secretary. The three million pages of documents also reveal fresh details about Mandelson's friendship with Epstein during and after his 2008 imprisonment, and suggest that Mandelson and his now husband Reinaldo da Silva received money from Epstein.
Today's revelations from the files further indicate that Mandelson offered to secure a holiday home for Epstein on Italy's Amalfi coast to host 'guests', despite his previous denials of any knowledge about Epstein's sexual abuse of girls and young women. In an August 2010 email, the disgraced peer told Epstein he had 'found a great place to stay' offering 'privacy and rooms for your 'guests''.
Police have now requested that Number 10 refrain from publishing any information that could prejudice their investigation into Mandelson, meaning Sir Keir Starmer's promised document release must be delayed. It has also been claimed that Starmer overruled the cabinet secretary and the government's national security secretariat by agreeing to demands from Labour backbenchers to hand over secret communications between Mandelson and ministers to the intelligence and security committee.
The Cabinet Office is expected to disclose tens of thousands of emails and documents sent to the US embassy, raising concerns about potential risks to Britain's national security and the special relationship between the UK and the United States.
