Sir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure over his handling of Lord Peter Mandelson's links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, with a three-hour emergency debate scheduled in the House of Commons on Tuesday. Labour backbenchers are expected to use the debate to voice discontent with the Prime Minister's judgment in the affair.
The Prime Minister has admitted feeling “angry” after being forced to sack Lord Mandelson, but faces questions about why he defended the peer at Prime Minister's Questions last week while knowing further revelations were imminent. Starmer acknowledged that he was aware the then-ambassador had described “very embarrassing” messages that would surface, but insisted he did not know the content of the emails until Wednesday night.
Emails published by Bloomberg showed Lord Mandelson telling Epstein to “fight for early release” shortly before the financier was sentenced for soliciting prostitution from a minor. In another message, Mandelson told Epstein “I think the world of you” the day before the sentence began in June 2008.
Sir Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office's top civil servant, has been asked to appear before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee to clarify whether Lord Mandelson was properly vetted before his appointment as ambassador. Meanwhile, one of Starmer's senior aides, Paul Ovenden, resigned on Monday after derogatory sexual remarks about Diane Abbott from 2017 were published.
The departure of Ovenden, along with Lord Mandelson and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, means three senior figures have left the government in two weeks. Combined with Labour's poor polling, some backbenchers are now calling for the Prime Minister to resign, though Starmer has insisted there is no need for him to step down.
