Epstein files latest: Starmer to face grilling over Mandelson appointment as fresh Andrew claims emerge

The Tories last night tabled a rare ‘humble address’ to the King requesting the Government release documents surrounding Sir Keir’s decision to recall Lord Mandelson to government.

Kemi Badenoch last night urged Labour MPs to back the motion, which would also force the Government to release details of the six-figure payoff reportedly handed to Lord Mandelson following his sacking as US ambassador last year.

‘Labour MPs have a clear choice,’ she said.

‘Either they can support our efforts to reveal the truth about how and why Peter Mandelson was appointed ambassador to Washington despite his known links to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein; or they can help Keir Starmer and his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney dodge scrutiny over this sordid affair.

‘The cover-up has gone on too long, which is why the Conservatives are bringing a humble address before Parliament to demand the publication of all relevant information about Mandelson’s appointment and why the proper vetting never happened.’

One Labour MP told the Mail it would be ‘foolish’ for the PM to try to block the release. ‘There is open fury about the way this has been handled,’ the source said. ‘We just have to get everything out there.’

It’s a big day for Keir Starmer as he heads to the Commons for PMQs.

The Prime Minister is likely to be grilled over his appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to Washington following the newly released Epstein files.

Starmer has already been grilled by Kemi Badenoch over his judgment in appointing Mandelson and that will certainly ratchet up today after documents appear to show the peer leaked sensitive information to Epstein while in Gordon Brown’s cabinet.

Democratic Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández told Newsnight she wants Sir Keir Starmer to encourage Lord Mandelson to testify before the US Congress, and adds that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should too.

She said:

He should encourage him, because we do not have authority to issue a subpoena.

Congresswoman Leger Fernandez, who chairs the Democratic Women’s Caucus, warned that the United States has not yet seen the accountability survivors deserve.

She added:

I think the reckoning has to take place. I don’t think it’s actually happening yet, because we know that the Epstein files have not been fully disclosed, and we know this administration, the Trump administration, continues to stonewall and continues to make it difficult for the survivors to get the justice that they are seeking.

Watch her interview below:

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by Dan Woodland

Peter Mandelson appears to have plotted with Jeffrey Epstein to oust Gordon Brown as he struggled to cling onto power during his final months in office.

The disgraced Labour grandee seemingly schemed with Epstein behind Mr Brown’s back until his departure from government, often giving him the inside scoop right from the heart of Downing Street.

At times, Epstein appeared to urge Mandelson to make his own move for the top job despite his Labour peerage which prevented him from becoming PM.

In one exchange the paedophile financier appeared to joke that Mandelson should marry Princess Anne and then divorce her, which would effectively dissolve his Lordship status.

At other times Epstein flouted the idea of a joint leadership bid between his friend and David Miliband – another leading Blairite and close ally of the PM.

Lord Mandelson could have ‘lost the plot’ because he was ‘in love’ with Jeffrey Epstein, a former minister has claimed.

Shaun Woodward, who was Northern Ireland Secretary under Gordon Brown, made the startling suggestion as he admitted it was ‘hard to explain’ the actions of his long-term friend.

Mr Woodward told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme he was ‘absolutely astonished’ by the latest revelations.

‘It’s hard to explain how somebody so clever and smart did something which if (the emails) are right was anything but those things,’ he said.

Pressed why Lord Mandelson might have behaved in that way, Mr Woodward said: ‘I’m tempted to say he must have been in love with the guy and lost the plot.

‘It’s very hard to fathom how a senior Cabinet minister would have shared – if this is right and if these emails are bona fide – such information.’

Cabinet minister Wes Streeting said there was a sense of betrayal about Lord Mandelson’s actions.

He told Times Radio:

You can see the outrage across the political spectrum and from people up and down our country.

I cannot state strongly enough how bitterly that betrayal feels for those of us in the Labour Party who feel very personally let down and also feel that he, as well as betraying two prime ministers, betraying our country and betraying Epstein’s victims, has fundamentally betrayed our values and the things that motivate us and the things that brought us into politics, which is public service and national interest, not self-service and self-interest.

Let’s return to politics now as we approach PMQs where the focus will surely be on Lord Mandelson

Lord Mandelson has been approached for comment and while he has yet to speak publicly, the BBC said it understood he maintains he did not act criminally and that his actions were not for personal gain.

The BBC reported Lord Mandelson argues he had sought Jeffrey Epstein’s expertise in the national interest ahead of the financial crisis.

The former business secretary returned to the frontline when Keir Starmer appointed him as the UK’s ambassador to the US in December 2024, seeking a high-profile figure to deal with Donald Trump’s White House.

But he was sacked last September over his links to Epstein.

Here’s the Daily Mail’s diary editor Richard Eden explaining why Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor must face a full criminal investigation following the latest release of the Epstein files.

JD Vance has ratcheted pressure on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to testify before US lawmakers over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

The Vice President said in a wide-ranging exclusive interview with the Daily Mail on Tuesday that he would support bipartisan efforts to summon the ex-prince to give evidence to Congress, noting recent calls by the British prime minister.

‘I saw Keir Starmer said something about this,’ Vance said. ‘I’m certainly open to it.’

The VP added the decision would ultimately be made by congressional Republicans who were best placed to judge what Andrew could offer to the ongoing bipartisan investigation into Epstein and how the US government handled his case.

‘I’ll let them determine whether they should talk to Prince Andrew. I’d certainly be open to it. But it’s their call, not mine,’ he added.

by Inderdeep Bains

An exotic dancer demanded $250,000 from Jeffrey Epstein claiming she performed ‘various sex acts’ on the disgraced financier and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, legal documents show.

The unnamed woman claims to have been chauffeured to a 2006 party at Epstein’s Palm Beach home where she says she danced for the men before they asked her for a ‘threesome’.

The shocking claim has been unearthed by the Daily Mail in a tranche of more than three million Epstein-related documents released by the US Department of Justice.

The massive disclosure on Friday has once again thrown scrutiny on Andrew’s embarrassing ties to Epstein – links that have already seen him stripped of his titles.

In a letter dated March 23, 2011, the woman’s lawyer alleged that the billionaire had breached his oral contract by failing to pay her the $10,000 promised for performing at a party at his Florida home.

Now let’s turn our attention to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor following sensational developments overnight

by Rebecca English and Noor Qurashi

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been booted out of Royal Lodge in the dead of night – as he begins his new chapter on the King’s Sandringham Estate.

The former Duke of York was told to leave his stately home earlier than expected after his brother King Charles became increasingly concerned by allegations made against him, it is understood.

It follows the publication of an email on Monday night, released in the latest batch of the Epstein files, where Andrew appeared to tell paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein he wanted to be his ‘pet’.

Police also announced on Tuesday they would assess claims Epstein trafficked a second woman to the UK to have sex with the disgraced former Prince.

Andrew is now believed to have vacated his £30million, 31-room Royal Lodge – three months after handing back his lease.

He was driven 132 miles to Sandringham and transported ‘under the cover of darkness’.

Kemi Badenoch said Sir Keir Starmer should provide evidence to the police in their Lord Mandelson investigation if required, as she called the affair a ‘national embarrassment’.

The Tory leader told Sky News the launch of the criminal investigation was ‘inevitable’ but ‘should not let this distract us from the fact that the Prime Minister has his fingerprints all over this’.

She said:

I think the Prime Minister has a lot of questions to answer, and not just him, but his chief of staff, and all the people in No 10 who pushed this appointment.

I think it is a national embarrassment. There are many people who should have been given that job, or who should have been interviewed for that job, and they didn’t get a chance.

Asked whether police should interview Sir Keir, Mrs Badenoch said:

I think the police will make that call. But if there is evidence that shows that there is something to do with the Prime Minister, then, of course, yes.