Keir Starmer has handed a dossier on Peter Mandelson to the police and will legislate to strip the former business secretary of his peerage, after reports that he leaked market-sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein during the 2008 financial crisis. The prime minister told his cabinet on Tuesday morning that he was “appalled” by the reported leaks and had asked officials to draft legislation to remove Mandelson’s peerage “as quickly as possible”.
The Cabinet Office has sent the Metropolitan Police details about emails from Mandelson, who served as business secretary under Gordon Brown, to the late financier and convicted sex offender. Starmer’s spokesperson said the prime minister told cabinet that Mandelson had “let his country down”, adding that the public saw politicians rather than individuals in the scandal and that the reported behaviour was “gobsmacking” and weakened trust.
Fresh disclosures from the Epstein files show Mandelson sent a string of emails containing confidential government information, including a document intended for the prime minister outlining potential £20bn in asset sales, early confirmation of an imminent euro bailout package, and claims he was “trying hard” to change government policy on bankers’ bonuses. The Cabinet Office said an initial review found the emails “contain likely market sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash and the official activities thereafter to stabilise the economy”.
Starmer has asked officials to draft legislation to strip Mandelson of his peerage, which would be the first such removal since 1917. The prime minister’s spokesperson said he believed “in no other walk of life are you unsackable unless a law is passed” and that the process for removing lords should be fit for purpose.
Mandelson is also reported to have received three separate payments of $25,000 from Epstein in 2003 and 2004, though he said he had no recollection of them. The European Commission said on Tuesday it would examine whether Mandelson had breached its code of conduct while serving as EU commissioner between 2004 and 2008.
