Keir Starmer has handed a dossier on Peter Mandelson to the Metropolitan Police and begun the process to strip the former business secretary of his peerage, following reports that he leaked market-sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein during the 2008 financial crisis.
The Cabinet Office has forwarded emails between Mandelson and the late sex offender to the police, after a review of documents released by the US Department of Justice. A spokesperson for the prime minister said the emails contained likely market-sensitive information about the financial crash and government efforts to stabilise the economy, and that safeguards appeared to have been compromised.
Starmer told his cabinet on Tuesday he was 'appalled' by the reported leaks and had asked officials to draft legislation to remove Mandelson's peerage as quickly as possible. 'The prime minister regards it as ridiculous that a peerage cannot be removed except with primary legislation, something that has not happened since 1917,' his spokesperson said.
The prime minister is said to have told cabinet he believed more scandals may be uncovered in the Epstein files, and that Mandelson had 'let his country down'. The European Commission also announced it would investigate whether Mandelson breached its code of conduct during his time as EU commissioner.
Mandelson, who was business secretary under Gordon Brown, is alleged to have sent confidential documents to Epstein, including a government outline of potential £20bn asset sales and early confirmation of a euro bailout. He also reportedly received three payments of $25,000 from Epstein in 2003 and 2004, though he says he has no recollection of them.
