Afternoon summary
Keir Starmer has sacked Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US over his association with Jeffrey Epstein. And here is a list by Jessica Elgot of potential candidates to replace him.
The Liberal Democrats have called for a review of government vetting procedures following a Sky News report saying “the security services expressed concern about the appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, but No 10 went ahead anyway.”
The Labour party will later tonight announce how many MPs have got the required nominations to stand for depuy leader. Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has already passed the 80-MP threshold and Lucy Powell, the former leader of the Commons, seems likely to be the only other participant in the contest. (See 9.26pm.) Bell Ribeiro-Addy has confirmed that she did not get enough support.
Unfortunately, I have not secured the high number of nominations required to proceed in the deputy leadership contest. I am disappointed that the full range of Labour members’ views will not be represented on the ballot paper.
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
Updated
Braverman says pulling out out of ECHR could lead to referendum on Irish reunification
Peter Walker is the Guardian’s senior political correspondent.
Suella Braverman has hinted that a referendum on Irish reunification might end up being a result of the UK pulling out of the European convention on human rights (ECHR), arguing that Northern Ireland should not be able to effectively block this from happening.
The Conservative MP and former home secretary was speaking after an event in London alongside Tory peer David Frost and Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, about how and why the UK could quit the convention.
The cross-party line up did not, however, mean she was about to defect, Braverman said.
I’ve been elected as a Conservative member of parliament. I’m very grateful to the people of Fareham and Waterlooville, thousands of them, who sent me back to parliament, and I’m here doing my job for them.
Questioned on the potential repercussions for peace in Northern Ireland, where the ECHR forms part of the Good Friday accord, Braverman said this need not be a barrier – even suggesting that this would be the case if it helped push a vote on a united Ireland.
It’s worth remembering that the unionists didn’t agree to the Windsor framework or the Northern Ireland protocol, and yet the UK government proceeded nonetheless.
I think that same principle can be applied in this context, and it does suggest that the principle of consent has been significantly weakened over time. Listen, if there needs to be a border poll, then you know, the people should have a vote. I think the unionists are confident about the position.
But ultimately, Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. It is not some disjointed, detached outpost subject to its own separate laws. If the UK, United Kingdom, leaves the European Convention on Human Rights, so must Northern Ireland.
US congressman says Mandelson's sacking shows how powerful people 'must be held accountable' over Epstein
Ro Khanna, a prominent Democratic congressman in the US, has said that Peter Mandelson’s sacking shows what will happen to other powerful people when the Epstein files are published in full. He was speaking to the New Statesman’s Freddie Hayward. Hayward says in his report:
Peter Mandelson’s resignation is being welcomed on the Hill. Democrats are touting his exit as the first of many scalps they hope to get over the Epstein saga. No Democrat has led the charge more vociferously than Representative Ro Khanna.
Khanna said today that “rich and powerful men who covered for Epstein’s paedophilia or participated in it must be held accountable,” adding that “Mandelson is the first example of many that will follow when the files are released”.
Updated
Former No 10 policy chief Liz Lloyd appointed minister and given peerage
Downing Street has also announced three new ministerial appointments.
Liz Lloyd, who was Keir Starmer head of policy delivery in Downing Street until the reshuffle last week, and who previously worked as deputy chief of staff to Tony Blair in No 10, is getting a peerage and being made a minister dealing with science and business, and also serving as a whip in the Lords.
Michael Shanks is being made a minister of state in the energy department. Previously he was a parliamentary under-secretary (a more junior category of minister) there.
And Chris McDonald has been appointed a junior minister in the energy and business departments.
Labour publishes 'expanded' list of 52 PPS appointments
The Labour party has released a list naming what it says is an “expanded team” parliamentary private secretary appointments.
PPS are MPs who serve as unpaid ministerial aides. They are not ministers, or proper members of the government, but they are party of the “payroll vote” – expected to vote with the government on all occasions – and they are considered part of the wider government family.
There were 32 on the first government list published in September last year. Now there are 52.
Since the list does not seem to be available online, here it is in full.
10 Downing Street
Catherine Fookes
Abena Oppong-Asare
Jon Pearce
Treasury
Helena Dollimore
Kirith Entwistle
Alistair Strathern
Cabinet Office
Claire Hazelgrove
Naushabah Khan
Alice Macdonald
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Catherine Atkinson
Jessica Toale
Home Office
Sarah Coombes
Alan Gemmell
Sally Jameson
Department for Business and Trade
Luke Charters
Jeevun Sandher
Marie Tidball
Department of Health and Social Care
Joe Morris
Steve Race
Rosie Wrighting
Ministry of Defence
Shaun Davies
Rachel Hopkins
Pamela Nash
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Andrew Pakes
Tom Rutland
Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government
Tom Hayes
Laura Kyrke-Smith
Harpreet Uppal
Department for Work and Pensions
Natalie Fleet
Gordon McKee
Ministry of Justice
James Frith
Joe Powell
Melanie Ward
Scotland Office
Frank McNally
Alison Taylor
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Callum Anderson
Preet Gill
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Jack Abbott
Lola McEvoy
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Anna Gelderd
Connor Rand
Wales Office
Becky Gittins
Attorney General’s Office
Alex Barros-Curtis
Kevin Bonavia
Department for Education
Emma Foody
Amanda Martin
Alan Strickland
Department for Transport
Liam Conlon
Julie Minns
Northern Ireland Office
Matt Rodda
Leader of the House of Commons
Leigh Ingham
Leader of the House of Lords
Paul Waugh
Ed Balls says it's 'hard to see logic' of reshuffle that saw his wife, Yvette Cooper, moved out of Home Office
Ed Balls has said it is “hard to see the logic” of the reshuffle that saw his wife, Yvette Cooper, moved from home secretary to foreign secretary.
Balls, a former Labour shadow chancellor who is now a TV presenter and podcaster, was speaking on his Political Currency podcast, which he co-hosts with George Osborne. Normally he avoids saying anything revelatory about his wife on the podcast, but his comments today could be seen as confirmation that Cooper was not happy about the move – even though arguably it could be seen as a promotion.
Commenting on the reshuffle, Balls said:
It’s really hard again to see the logic.
David Lammy has spent four years building an array of foreign contacts around the world. Suddenly, he’s taking the sentencing legislation, through the House of Commons … which has been put in place by Shabana Mahmood. She’s been moved and so we have to start from scratch in terms of working out how to deliver that.
I think, from Yvette’s point of view, how could you not be excited by the idea of being the foreign secretary? But it’s obviously frustrating when you spent years getting to the point where you had a plan to turn this round in terms of migration, and whether that’s around deportations, or getting other departments to pull their weight in terms of housing asylum seekers, turning around the appeals system, getting the France deal in place, the Germany deal coming through, third country relations which are in the pipeline – and suddenly to find you have to have a new home secretary, starting from scratch and you’ve gone to the Foreign Office. Of course it’s frustrating.
Reform council to ‘rescind’ climate emergency declaration
Plans by Reform UK to “rescind” the declaration of a climate emergency at one of the English county councils it now controls have been condemned by opposition parties, Ben Quinn reports.
I enjoyed this, posted BTL, but attributed to a commentator on Bluesky.
To resign in disgrace once, Mr. Mandelson, may be regarded as a misfortune; to resign twice looks like carelessness; but a hat-trick is just taking the piss.
No 10 says it was not responsible for Mandelson's security vetting prior to being appointed ambassador
Downing Street has said that No 10 was not involved in the vetting of Peter Mandelson before he was made ambassador to the US.
At the afternoon lobby briefing, a No 10 spokesperson said:
No 10 was not involved in the security vetting process. This is managed at departmental level by the agency responsible and any suggestion that No 10 was involved is untrue.
Mandelson does not accept he thought Epstein's first conviction 'wrongful', BBC reports
According to the BBC, Peter Mandelson does not accept the Foreign Office/No 10 line that he though Jeffrey Epstein’s first conviction was “wrongful”. (See 10.54am and 1.12pm.) “Rather [Mandelson] privately supported his friend, believed was telling the truth and thought the length of his sentence should be challenged,” Joe Pike from the BBC reports.
The difference between thinking a conviction was wrong and the sentence being wrong may be minimal. Epstein did plead guilty in 2008, but it was part of a complicated plea deal, and quite what Epstein told Mandelson about what he had or had not done – ie, what what Mandelson believed about his friend – is not clear.
Farage urged to 'come clean' about Clacton house after BBC investigation raises questions about his account of purchase
In May this year my colleague Rowena Mason revealed that, even though Nigel Farage had been telling people that he had bought a house in Clacton, in fact it had been purchased by his partner, Laure Ferrari. It was hardly the biggest lie in politics – Farage argued that whether “whether I say ‘I’ or ‘we’ is pretty irrelevant” – but it was indicative of a certain slipperiness and casual attitude to accuracy that critics would argue is typical of the Reform UK leader.
The scoop did not attract huge interest at the time. But, after Angela Rayner resigned as deputy prime minister because she had underpaid stamp duty, there was renewed interest in the Farage Clacton house. Rayner got into trouble because she should have paid the extra stamp duty owed when someone buys a second home, and Farage was asked if he had been doing the same thing.
Billy Kenber and Phil Kemp from the BBC have now published the results of a very thorough investigation into this. They have found no evidence that there was anything about the purchase that was unlawful. But they have found evidence that undermines Farage’s suggestion that his partner, a former waitress, was able to buy the £885,000 home without a mortgage because she comes from a wealthy family.
They also found that Farage recently commissioned a KC specialising in tax to provide a statement saying the correct stamp duty was paid – even though Farage says he was not involved in the purchase.
Kenber and Kemp say:
It is legal for an unmarried person to gift or otherwise transfer wealth to their partner for them to buy a property in their own name and doing so does not incur stamp duty.
Farage has though faced accusations that he has acted hypocritically and sought to avoid tax if he played a role in financing the purchase of his constituency home in his partner’s name.
Commenting on the BBC story, Anna Turley, the Labour party chair, said:
Nigel Farage repeatedly misled his constituents and the British public about buying a home in his constituency. There are now far too many unanswered questions about the house he stays in while in Clacton. He must urgently come clean with the public as to whether he financially contributed towards the purchase of this property.
Misleading the public for political gain about buying a constituency home is appalling in itself. But if he deliberately put in place this arrangement to avoid paying his fair share of tax that would be even worse.
And Sarah Olney, a Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokesperson, said:
Nigel Farage has serious questions to answer over this. After spending days attacking others over their tax arrangements he now needs to be frank and honest about his own.
I’m not holding my breath. The only time Nigel Farage wants to answer questions is when he is in the US talking Britain down.
In a statement to the BBC, a spokesperson for Farage said:
Laure Ferrari is the sole legal and beneficial owner of the property. It belongs solely to Laure and was purchased with funds which belong to her. All taxes were properly paid. Nigel has no financial interest in the property whatsoever.
Mark Brown is the Guardian’s north of England correspondent.
Fiona Hill, a former Russia adviser to the White House, said the timing of Peter Mandelson’s sacking could hardly be worse. She told the Guardian:
I do have to say that it’s come at a terrible time for US-UK relations because it’s just ahead of the state visit. It just puts a cloud over an already extraordinarily difficult visit.
This visit is very personal to Trump … it’s important for managing the relationship at this particular point, whether people like it or not. This is going to make things much more difficult.
Having said that Hill, an adviser to the UK government on its strategic defence review, suggested she was not surprised by the outcome. “I just had the same sinking feeling that everybody else did,” she said.
Man held after suspected arson attack on office of Labour MP Sharon Hodgson
A man in his 20s has been arrested by police after a suspected arson attack wrecked the constituency office of the Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, Mark Brown reports.
The Conservatives have restated their call for what they are describing as the “Mandeslon files” – the papers showing the extent of the vetting before Mandelson was appointed ambassador to the US, and what they said about Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Eptsein – to be published.
In a statement, Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said:
This whole affair has been a national disgrace.
Keir Starmer continued to defend Peter Mandelson even after more and more shocking revelations came to light and his position was beyond untenable. It’s just more weakness from a prime minister without a backbone.
The British public deserve to know what Labour knew, and when. They must immediately publish all of the Mandelson files.
Jeremy Hunt, the former Tory foreign secretary and chancellor, told the World at One that, while appointing Peter Mandelson as an ambassador was risky, sometimes risks of that kind are worth taking.
Hunt said it was “inconceivable that people won’t have pointed out to Keir Starmer the risks of appointing someone like Peter Mandelson to a job like this.” He added:
But you do have to take some risks in the appointments you make, and this time it went wrong.
No 10 rejects suggestions PM should have realised before US appointment Mandelson didn't accept Epstein's first conviction
At Downing Street lobby briefings the questions are often more interesting than the answers. Here are some of the most difficult questions the PM’s spokesperson had to deal with this morning about the Peter Mandelson sacking.
They show that No 10 should have realised, well before Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador, that he had not accepted Epstein’s original child sex conviction.
In 2008 Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a girl under the age of 18 for prostitution. This is the one that Mandelson urged Epstein to challenge; Mandelson thought it was unfair, and encouraged Epstein to push for early release. In 2019 Epstein was arrested again on sex trafficking charges.
Q: Given that it has been widely known for several years that Peter Mandelson stayed in Jeffery Epstein’s luxury New York mansion in 2009, stayed in his luxury Paris property 2010 and 2011 – these are all reported facts – why have some supportive emails changed the PM’s view?
The spokesperson said what was new was the information about the “extent and depth” of the relationship, and that the new information was “materially different”.
Q: If the PM was surprised by the new information, showing Mandelson encouraged Epstein to fight his first conviction, but he knew Mandelson had stayed in Epstein’s flat after that conviction, did the PM think Mandelson stayed there thinking Epstein was guilty?
To this, the spokesperson just repeated the “extent and depth” point.
Q: You seem to saying it is fine to stay in a convicted paedophile’s property if you think they are guilty, but not if you think they are innocent?
The spokesperson did not engage with this point, and just repeated the “materially different” line.
Q: Can you clarify for other ministers and ambassadors – is it OK to stay in a paedeophile’s house?
The spokesperson said there was a process for appointments.
Q: Does the PM take a dim view of all high-profile political figures who have in the past associated with Epstein?
The spokesperson dodged this one completely.
Q: Does the PM have confidence in the vetting process if it missed these elements of the Mandelson/Epstein relationship?
To this one, there was a clear answer. “Yes,” the spokesperson said.
Q: Does the PM feel personally let down by Mandelson?
The spokesperson said the PM has acted the the basis of new information that had come to light.
Q: The new emails did not really reveal anything that we did not already know. So was Mandelson sacked because he was just becoming a political liability?
The spokesperson said he disagreed with that “fundamentally”. The emails revealed something “materially different”, he said.
Updated
No 10 declines to say Starmer was 'misled' by Mandelson about Epstein links ahead of appointment as ambassador
At the Downing Street lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson repeatedly said that Peter Mandelson was sacked because of “new information” that came to light about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
But, despite being asked repeatedly, the spokesperson declined to say that No 10 had been “misled” by Mandelson.
No 10 says Starmer found Mandelson's emails to Epstein 'reprehensible'
At the Downing Street lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said that Keir Starmer found Peter Mandelson’s emails to Jeffrey Epstein “reprehensible”.
When he was asked if Starmer agreed with Mike Tapp, the Home Office minister who said this morning the emails were “sickening” (see 10.11am), the spokesperson was at first reluctant to use the same language.
But, when pressed, he said:
I think it’s self-evident that he found the content of these emails reprehensible.
No 10 struggles to explain why previous disclosures about Mandelson/Epstein links didn't disbar him from US job
This morning’s Downing Street lobby briefing last about an hour – almost twice as long as usual – and that is normally a clear sign that that the government is in trouble. If Keir Starmer was hoping the relatively swift sacking of Peter Mandelson would close down this story, he is likely to be disappointed.
The PM’s spokesperson explained the decision in almost identical terms to those used by Stephen Doughty in the Commons. The spokesperson said:
In light of the additional information and emails written by Peter Mandelson, the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary to withdraw him as ambassador.
The emails show the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.
In particular, Peter Mandelson’s suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.
In light of that, mindful of the victims of Epstein’s crimes, and he’s been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect.
It is understood that the the Mandelson/Epstein emails were not available to the government at the time of Mandelson’s pre-appointment vetting. Apparently the emails were not even available to Mandelson, because they were sent to an email address that has been closed for a long time.
Keir Starmer decided to get rid of Mandelson at a meeting in No 10 this morning, also attended by Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, the spokesperson said.
The PM’s spokesperson argued that the emails published yesterday afternoon (see 12.27pm) changed the situation because they showed that Mandelson had encouraged Epstein to challenge his first child sex offence conviction.
But the spokesperson struggled to explain why Starmer thought it was right to appoint Mandelson in the first place when, long before he was made ambassador, it was known that he had continued his friendship with Epstein after his first conviction – even staying in his New York flat while the financier was in prison.
Updated
James Roscoe, former deputy head of mission, has replaced Mandelson as interim US ambassador, No 10 says
James Roscoe has taken over as acting interim ambassador in the US, Downing Street said at the morning lobby briefing. He was deputy head of mission, the PM’s spokesperson told journalists. Roscoe is a previous ambassador to the UN.
Peter Mandelson has left the post “with immediate effect”, the spokesperson said.
He was unable to say whether or not Mandelson would get a severance payment.
The spokesperson said the process of replacing Mandelson was just starting. He would not say whether the job would go to a career civil servant (the normal practice) or to a political appointee (as Mandelson was).
Plaid Cymru says Mandelson affair shows 'something deeply wrong at heart of Starmer's government'
Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, says the Mandelson affairs shows that there is “something deeply wrong” with the Starmer government.
Just yesterday, Keir Starmer defended Peter Mandelson and expressed confidence in him, while MPs looked on incredulous.
He took far too long to act this week, but appointing Mandelson as US Ambassador in the first place despite his well-known close friendship with his ‘best pal’ Jeffrey Epstein shows deeper failings in political instincts.
This is hardly the first time the prime minister’s cloth-eared judgement has allowed issues to snowball. It all points to something deeply wrong at the heart of Starmer’s government, and Welsh Labour MPs should surely question how much longer they can stand by in silence.
How disclosures by Bloomberg and the Sun led to Mandelson being sacked
This is what Stephen Doughty, the Foreign Office minister, told MPs about why Peter Mandelson was being sacked today, after Keir Starmer defended him at PMQs yesterday.
In light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary to withdraw him as ambassador to the United States.
The emails show that the depth and extent of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.
In particular, Lord Mandelson’s suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.
This seemed a reference to a story published by the Sun at 4.47pm yesterday. Written by Harry Cole, it started:
Peter Mandelson coached “best pal” Jeffrey Epstein through his “years of torture” over teen sex allegations, leaked emails suggest.
While the predator was facing charges in June 2008 over soliciting a minor, Lord Mandelson wrote: “Your friends stay with you and love you.”
Cole quoted various emails sent by Mandelson to Jeffrey Epstein. They seemed familiar to a team of Bloomberg journalists, who had access to more than 100 emails between Mandelson and Epstein. They published their own report, much fuller and more extensive then the Sun’s, not long after the Cole story appeared online.
So how did the Sun the get emails? Journalists don’t reveal their sources, but Alex Wickham from Bloomberg provided a possible clue in a post on social media describing what happened as the Bloomberg team prepared their story.
Bloomberg sent Mandelson a detailed right of reply on Monday, with no response
After Mandelson chose to do an interview on Wednesday morning, we followed up
Some of the emails then appeared in another outlet on Wednesday evening
The interview on Wednesday was with Cole, and in the course of it Mandelson said he expected further “very embarrassing” correspondence between himself and Epstein to surface. Cole was able to publish some of it later.
Updated
David Davis says Mandelson appointment shows 'sheer size of failure of vetting process'
During the urgent question in the Commons David Davis, a former Tory cabinet minister, said Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US showed the “sheer size of the failure of the vetting process”. He said:
I think the house needs to understand the sheer size of the failure of the vetting process. In the public domain, Lord Mandelson had to resign for not telling the truth about an interest free loan. He had to resign, on the second occasion, because he had helped out a business friend to get a passport.
Beyond that, there are still unresolved doubts about his behaviour as the European trade commissioner when he gave concessions to the Russians.
When he came to be a minister again, in 2010, the code section 71 says ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise.
“Secretaries of State don’t have private diaries. He spent time with or in Mr Epstein’s flat, it seems, quietly meeting other members of the people involved in the Sempra deal, which cannot be cannot be seen to following his proper duty as a Secretary of State. Was this investigated?
In response, Stephen Doughty, the Foreign Office minister, said just said that all ambassadors are subject to extensive vetting.
Mainstream, the new centre-left Labour organisation backed by Andy Burnham among others, has issued a statement saying the Mandelson controversy shows Keir Starmer is running a “narrow and brittle political project”.
Luke Hurst, Mainstream’s national coordinator, said:
Peter Mandelson’s inevitable sacking is what happens when you put your party factions interest before your party and before the country.
If Starmer keeps running a narrow and brittle political project it will break him and could break the Labour party. We need a government and party of all the talents and all the views.
Green leader Zack Polanski says Mandelson affair evidence of 'dirty, broken political system'
Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, claims that the Mandelson controversy is evidence of Britain having “a dirty, broken political system”. In a statement he said:
Starmer’s instinct was to stand by Peter Mandelson, despite the evidence. His resignation now isn’t a matter of principle; it’s simple political expediency. It’s a symbol of a broken politics where the same insiders always fail up. How long until Mandelson ends up in a high-paid consultancy somewhere? While another washed-up former Westminster insider ends up in Washington? His resignation, like his original appointment, is a sign of a dirty, broken political system.
Tories demand release of paperwork showing full extent of Mandelson's pre-appointment vetting
After the UQ was over Neil O’Brien, the Conservative spokesperson, raised a point of order. Given that the government was refusing to publish all the paperwork relating to Peter Mandelson’s pre-appointment vetting, could the opposition get it published by using the humble address mechanism?
The Commons can force the government to release documents by passing a humble address motion demanding their publication. Labour did this successfully during the Brexit process.
The Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, said that would not be a decision for him.
The Conservatives are given a certain number of opposition days for debate in the Commons, and they could table a humble address motion on this topic. But, given that Keir Starmer has a working majority of 157, they would find it almost impossible to win the vote.
In the Commons Paul Holmes (Con) has just asked again if Lord Mandelson will keep the Labour whip in the Lords. (See 11.12am.)
This time Stephen Doughty, the Foreign Office minister, said that Mandelson was on leave of absence from the Lords, implying the issue did not arise.
Ed Davey says PM should replace Mandelson with ambassador 'who will stand up to Trump'
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has issued a statement saying that Peter Mandelson should be replaced with an ambassador willing to stand up to Donald Trump. He said:
The prime minister now needs to appoint an ambassador who will stand up to Trump, not cosy up to him and his cronies.
He also needs to come before parliament and explain why Lord Mandelson was appointed in the first place, given everything the government knew then.
Given Keir Starmer’s stance on the US, Davey is unlikely to get his way. It recently emerged that, before appointing Mandelson, No 10 seriously considered appointed George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, to the job. Osborne even made the shortlist. Perhaps he is checking his phone frantically even now …
MPs call for inquiry into why vetting did not pick up full extent of Mandelson's links to Epstein
In the Commons Andy McDonald, the Labour MP who called for Peter Mandelson to be sacked on the Today programme this morning (see 8.51am), welcomed the news that he has been sacked. He said:
The prime minister has made exactly the right decision and I think that has to be acknowledged. He has moved at pace.
This triggered loud jeering from Tories, who don’t accept that Starmer has moved quickly.
McDonald hit back at them, saying: “Don’t be ridiculous.”
He also called for an inquiry into why the vetting process did not pick up full details of the Mandelson/Epstein relationship. He said:
Could I ask the minister, clearly the appointment process didn’t pick up these issues. That’s self evident. So could we have an assurance that there will be an inquiry as to why that was not the case, and that this house will be kept informed?
In response, Doughty said that ambassadors are subject to vetting, but did not commit to an inquiry.
As the UQ went on, other MPs also asked for an inquiry – without getting a response.
Minister won't say if Mandelson will retain Labour whip in House of Lords
In the Commons Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, asked Stephen Doughty if Lord Mandelson is retaining the Labour whip in the House of Lords.
Doughty ignored the question, and just repeated points already made about why Mandelson was being withdrawn as ambassador.
In the Commons Helen Maguire, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, asked what had changed between yesterday, when Keir Starmer defended Mandelson, and today.
She asked if Mandelson misled the civil service vetting process.
In response, Doughty said that Keir Starmer acted in response to additional information that came to light.
Badenoch claims Starmer 'failed another key test of leadership' by backing Mandelson in Commons yesterday
Kemi Badenoch has claimed that Keir Starmer “failed yet another key test of leadership” when he backed Peter Mandelson in the Commons yesterday. She was speaking in a video she has just posted on social media.
Mandelson might have gone but, just as with Angela Rayner, Starmer dithered when he needed to be decisive.
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) September 11, 2025
Time and again he puts party above country. He has no backbone and no convictions.
There are now serious questions over what Starmer knew and when. We deserve to know. pic.twitter.com/zhV4MlFkW1
(The video must have been recorded before the Mandelson sacking was announced, and much of it sounds as if it was scripted to go out assuming he was still in post.)
UPDATE: Here is the full statement from Badenoch.
Peter Mandelson is now gone, but Keir Starmer failed yet another key test of leadership.
I asked him about Peter Mandelson’s links to the notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein six times at prime minister’s questions. And six times he could not provide any answers.
He gave his full backing to a man unfit for office. This matters for you. Because the prime minister has been distracted from the serious national security and economic challenges our country is facing.
He is a weak prime minister, who doesn’t have the courage to do the right thing at the right time.
The deficit is growing, debt is mounting, the welfare budget is spiralling out of control, and we are bracing for punishing tax rises from Rachel Reeves this Autumn.
Enough is enough.
The British public deserve a government focused on making sure our country is safe, lives within its means, and puts the public finances back on a sound footing.
Only the Conservatives can deliver that.
Updated
Tories welcome Mandelson's resignation, but claim it has left 'huge turmoil' ahead of state visit
Responding to Stephen Doughty’s statement, the Conservative spokersperson Neil O’Brien said that there were still “huge questions” for the government over this. He asked:
Did the US state department give any warning to our Government ahead of this appointment? Did the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Sue Gray give any warning? Have any employees of Global Counsel visited our Washington embassy since his appointment?
Next week is going to be the state visit. This is huge turmoil ahead of it and I cannot believe that the government put our monarch in this terrible position. I am glad that Peter Mandelson has now gone.
Mandelson sacked in particular for saying, in emails unknown to No 10, Epstein's first conviction was wrong, minister says
Here is the full quote from Stephen Doughty, the Foreign Office minister.
In light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary to withdraw him as ambassador to the United States.
The emails show that the depth and extent of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.
In particular, Lord Mandelson’s suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.
And in light of that I’m mindful, as we all are, of the victims of Epstein’s appalling crimes, and he has been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect.
Updated
Mandelson has been sacked as ambassador to US, MPs told
Stephen Doughty, a Foreign Office minister, is responding to the UQ about Peter Mandelson.
He starts by making the point that it is the anniversary of the “despicable” 9/11 terrorism attacks.
And he condemns the “appalling” killing of Charlie Kirk in the US.
Addressing the UQ, he says the PM has asked the foreign secretary to withdraw Mandelson as ambassador to the US.
Updated
SNP calls for Mandelson to be sacked 'without further delay'
The SNP is also calling for Peter Mandelson to be sacked. In a statement, Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, said:
Keir Starmer must sack Peter Mandelson without further delay - and come clean about what he knew when, and whether he sanctioned blocking the publication of damaging material.
UK government documents shouldn’t be hidden from the public just because they are damaging to the Labour party - and by backing Peter Mandelson to the hilt, the prime minister’s own reputation is now on the line.
Flynn is referring to this Times story.
Paula Barker withdraws from Labour's deputy leadership contest
Paula Barker has also dropped out from the Labour deputy leadership contest, PA Media is reporting.
That means there are just three candidates left in – Bridget Phillipson, Lucy Powell and Bell Ribeiro-Addy. (See 9.26am.)
Labour MP Sharon Hodgson condemns attack on her constituency office
Police are investigating a fire at the constituency office of the Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, who represents Washington and Gateshead South, the Sunderland Echo reports.
According to the Sunderland Echo, as well as the fire damage, there is graffiti on the building saying: “328 days blood on your hands”.
A spokesperson for Hodgson said:
An incident occurred overnight at Sharon’s office.
We will not be commenting or speculating while there is an ongoing police investigation, what we are clear on is there is no place for this kind of violence in our society.
Sharon will not be deterred and will continue to support her constituents in Washington and Gateshead South as she does day in, day out.
Constituents should get in touch with their issues by emailing in the usual way.
Hospital waiting list figures rise for second month in row, NHS England figures reveal
Hospital waiting list figures in England have risen for the second month in a row, the latest figures reveal.
PA Media says an estimated 7.40 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of July, relating to 6.25 million patients, up from 7.37 million treatments and 6.23 million patients at the end of June.
The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.
In its own news release on the figures, NHS England has instead focused on the figures showing that “NHS staff delivered a record number of cancer checks and treatments in July, despite five days of industrial action”.
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said:
One year ago, I made a promise that we would deliver 2 million extra appointments in our first year – not only did we do this in just 5 months, but we have obliterated that target, carrying out over 5 million.
Mandelson reportedly being asked by Foreign Office to clarify details of his relationship with Epstein
In his Sky News interview Mike Tapp, the Home Office minister, said that, as far as he was aware, all the details of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein were known to the government.
But, according to Sam Coates from Sky News, that is not the case. He says that Ollie Robbins, permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, has written to Mandelson asking him various questions about his dealings with the disgraced billionaire paedophile. Coates says Robbins is asking questions like: “When did you last meet Jeffrey Epstein before he took his own life? When did you last accept hospitality? What were your last business dealings with?”
Home Office minister Mike Tapp says he found Mandelson's emails to Epstein 'disturbing and sickening'
Mike Tapp, who only joined the government at the weekend as migration minister, was doing the interview round on behalf of No 10 this morning. He was there to promote an announcement from the Home Office about employers abusing the work visa system, but inevitably he spent most of his time talking about Peter Mandelson.
Tapp was effective at expressing his horror at the messages that have been published from Mandelson to Jeffrey Epstein. He told LBC that the emails were “really disturbing and sickening” and on BBC Breakfast he said they made him “shudder”.
But junior ministers doing the interview round always struggle when they are asked to comment on decisions being made in the PM’s office and Tapp more or less admitted that he did not know how things were going to unfold.
In his Times Radio interview, asked if Mandelson would still be ambassador to the US when Donald Trump makes his state visit to the UK next week, Tapp replied: “As far as I know.”
And asked if Keir Starmer would continue to retain confidence in Mandelson for the rest of the day, Tapp said: “I can’t say. I’m not the prime minister.”
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Foreign Office minister to answer Commons urgent question on Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to US
There will be an urgent question in the Commons at 10.30am on Peter Mandelson. The Speaker has granted a question tabled by the Conservative Neil O’Brien asking a Foreign Office minister to make a statement “on the process for the appointment of the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States”.
Emily Thornberry drops out of Labour's deputy leadership contest after coming last in latest nomination count
Emily Thornberry has announced that she is withdrawing from the contest to be Labour’s next deputy leader. In a post on social media, she said:
I’m deeply grateful to all the Labour members who have shared their support.
But I have decided to withdraw.
It has been a privilege to take part in this race with such brilliant women.
I will always be committed to this party and do everything I can to make it successful.
Six MPs declared on Tuesday there were standing in the contest, but Alison McGovern dropped out yesterday and last night, when Labour published the latest nomination figures, it became obviously that only two candidates are likely to make the ballot.
To qualify, MPs need nominations from at least 80 MPs. Bridget Phillipson has passed that threshold, and Lucy Powell seems certain to reach it by 5pm this afternoon, when nominations close.
Here are the nomination figures released last night. Thornberry had the least support.
Bridget Phillipson: 116
Lucy Powell: 77
Bell Ribeiro-Addy: 15
Paula Barker: 14
Emily Thornberry: 13
Now that Thornberry had dropped out, the 13 MPs who nominated her are free to nominate someone else.
Starmer under fresh pressure to sack Mandelson as Andy McDonald claims PLP ‘100%’ against letting him stay
Good morning. Keir Starmer knew that Peter Mandelson had had a long and close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein when he appointed him ambassador to Washingon. He also knew that Mandelson has been a scandal magnet for most of his career. But he was not appointing him archbishop of Canterbury. He calculated that Mandelson would be the right person to forge a good relationship with the immoral plutocrat narcissist now running America (also an old friend of Epstein’s), and by all accounts Mandelson has done this very successfully.
But, as Rowena Mason reports in her overnight story, Starmer is now under pressure to ditch the ambassador because new revelations about his relationship with Epstein have made it increasingly hard to defend – not least because Mandelson continued to support him in private even after he was facing charges for child sex offences.
Yesterday the leftwingers Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Kim Johnson were about the only Labour MPs calling for Mandelson to be sacked. But this morning, in an interview with the Today programme, Andy McDonald, a shadow cabinet minister under Jeremy Corbyn and under Starmer until 2021, also spoke out, saying Mandelson should go immediately.
McDonald told the programme:
[Mandelson] should go immediately. His position is completely and utterly untenable and him staying on in post is causing the government and the Labour party further damage. I’m afraid if he doesn’t do the right thing and resign today then the prime minister should sack him …
Angela Rayner did the right thing. She was under pressure for an inadvertent failure to pay tax. This is of a completely different scale. This speaks about morality and judgement, and Peter Mandelson’s position just is totally untenable, and he needs to act and take responsibility for his failures and withdraw from the political scene immediately.
More significantly, McDonald also claimed this was the private view of most or all Labour MPs. Asked how many other Labour MPs agreed with what he was saying about Mandelson, McDonald replied:
It’s 100%. People have got their heads in their hands over this and I haven’t spoken to anybody who is offering any glimmer of support for Peter Mandelson. It is widespread revulsion that we, by association, being in the same party, are being brought under the microscope for something that he has done.
He’s got to take responsibility for his actions and bring this to a close.
There isn’t anybody in the Labour party who is supporting Peter Mandelson today and the prime minister’s got to hear that and understand that he’ll weaken his position if he continues to support him. He cannot defend the indefensible.
When it was put to him that it was worth keeping Mandelson in post because he was helping the UK to get favourable decisions out of the White House, McDonald replied:
There’s got to be a moral compass. There are women who have been so fundamentally damaged by the behaviour of Epstein and his associates, and, in honour of them, we’ve got to put down a marker and say this is wholly and utterly unacceptable.
And the consequences that flow from somebody having to fall on their sword will be the consequences, and we will deal with it.
It will not derail the relationship between the United States and the UK. That will sustain way beyond this current prime minister and this current president.
In part this is just Labour factionalism; it’s the latest skirmish in a battle between Mandelson and the left that has been going on since the 1980s. Mandelson once famously said he wanted to consign the Corbynite left to a “sealed tomb”, and the MPs who have been speaking out against him, like McDonald, are leftwingers who are returning the favour. But it is not just that. Opposition parties are demanding Mandelson’s resignation too, and the rightwing papers are gunning for him as well.
There will be quite a lot more of this as the day goes on.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: NHS England publishes its latest monthly performance figures.
9.45am: Wes Streeting, the health secretary, speaks at a Policy Live event in London.
10.3am: Alan Campbell, the new leader of the Commons, takes business questions in the chamber.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Noon: John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, takes questions at Holyrood.
2.30pm: John Healey, the defence secretary, speaks at the DSEI conference in London.
Afternoon: David Lammy, the new deputy PM and justice secretary, visits a prison in south London.
5pm: Nominations close for the Labour party deputy leadership. As Jessica Elgot reports, Bridget Phillipson is definitely a candidate, and it is likely only one other MP will be nominated – Lucy Powell.
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