He knew. This was the key revelation from a day of drama at Westminster. The Prime Minister knew that Peter Mandelson had remained friends with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but still decided to make Mandelson UK ambassador to our most important ally. Lots of other things happened in Parliament. There was a Commons debate designed to force the Government to release documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, and a row over what exactly should be made public.
Sir Keir Starmer revealed that he had spoken to the King – and the Metropolitan Police had spoken to Number 10. But what will be remembered was Sir Keir’s shocking admission that he did know about Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein, and gave him the crucial role anyway.
And the Prime Minister wasn’t just aware that the pair had been friends in the distant past, something that might be embarrassing but – maybe, if you are feeling kind – forgivable. There are people who used to be close to Epstein but disowned him after he was officially registered as a sex offender in 2008.
Lord Mandelson was not one of them. He remained friends with the man. And what Keir Starmer has admitted is that he knew it.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch wheedled the admission out of him. She asked: “Did the official security vetting he received mention Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein?”
Sir Keir replied: “Yes it did.”
That was the key moment that could bring this Prime Minister down.
Sir Keir also insisted that Lord Mandelson was asked for details, and lied in response. Sir Keir told MPs: “Mandelson completely misrepresented the extent of his relationship with Epstein and lied throughout the process.”
But even if we take Sir Keir at his word, this would mean Mandelson lied about the “extent” of their friendship, and didn’t deny it existed.
Tories scent blood. They are trying to focus attention on Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s top adviser in Number 10 who apparently lobbied for Mandelson to get the ambassador job. But they are doing this because they know that if McSweeney resigns, it would weaken the Prime Minister and make him look guilty too.
Even worse for Sir Keir, it’s not just the Conservatives. Labour MPs are in despair. A lot of them a desperately hoping the PM resigns before the next election, but they don’t know how to get rid of him. This scandal provides an opportunity.
Hence, we saw Angela Rayner, the former Deputy Prime Minister and a possible Labour leadership candidate, speaking in Parliament to side with the Tories – and against the Government – in the debate over the release of documents.
If she can be disloyal in public, it encourages other Labour MPs to feel free to do the same.
It’s not hyperbole to think Sir Keir’s days may now be numbered. We are witnessing the beginning of the end.
