The former European commissioner has faced several scandals during his political career. He resigned from former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair’s cabinet twice — once in 1998, and again in 2001.
Starmer, already under pressure after his deputy prime minister was forced to quit earlier this month, is facing questions about why he took so long to act, and about what he knew of Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein before he was appointed to the prestigious diplomatic role.
A government official said the information contained in the emails had not been available at the time of Mandelson’s appointment, even to Mandelson himself, as they were from a defunct email account. The onus was on the individual being vetted to disclose relevant information, the official added.
Asked whether Mandelson misled the vetting process, a spokesperson for Starmer said: “I’m not going to comment on an individual’s vetting.” The spokesperson insisted the vetting process had been followed.
Senior Labour MP Emily Thornberry, who chairs parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said it was “right” Mandelson had been sacked. Her committee had repeatedly asked to question him since the “first rumours of his appointment,” she revealed in an X post.
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said: “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.”
