Keir Starmer confirmed he was aware that Peter Mandelson kept in touch with Jeffrey Epstein after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for child sex crimes. Despite this knowledge, Starmer had still appointed Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the United States. Starmer now accuses Mandelson of “lying repeatedly” about how often the two men communicated.

Expressing regret over the appointment, Starmer accused Mandelson of betraying both the country and the Labour Party. The Prime Minister stated he has reached an agreement with the King to remove Mandelson from the Privy Council, a group of high-level royal advisors. Officials are also taking steps to strip Mandelson of his peerage and title.

Starmer further revealed that police are investigating Mandelson for allegedly leaking market-sensitive data and Downing Street emails dating back to his time in Gordon Brown’s government. The Metropolitan Police launched a criminal inquiry after documents from the Epstein files appeared to contain confidential government details.

In response, the Conservatives have demanded that the government release official records regarding the appointment. Kemi Badenoch accused Starmer of using national security concerns as a "red herring" to distract from the scandal. Meanwhile, Starmer defended the actions of his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.