Peter Mandelson is ‘a bomb waiting to go off’ say Labour MPs – with some of the stories that have appeared since his sacking hinting at the danger he could pose to the Prime Minister.
A report in Saturday’s Times stating that Downing Street was already aware of damning emails between the peer and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when Sir Keir Starmer stood up in the Commons to express his ‘full confidence’ in Lord Mandelson bore all the hallmarks of his ‘allies’.
Despite the embarrassingly gushing content of the messages to his ‘best pal’, in which he expressed his love and support for Epstein and urged him to apply for early release after his conviction for child sex offences, Lord Mandelson is said to feel ‘hung out to dry’ by the PM – a dangerous state of mind given how deeply embedded he was in Sir Keir’s inner circle and how privy he was to confidential information.
‘He must know enough to bring down Keir if he wanted to,’ said one MP.
Lord Mandelson refused to resign and remains on the government payroll, meaning he could be in line for a six-figure taxpayer-funded payout for his dismissal from the £200,000-a-year job as ambassador to the US.
Sir Keir did not speak to Lord Mandelson before his dismissal – just 24 hours after backing him in the Commons. The speed with which events moved meant that employment law does not appear to have been followed.
The Government could have to prove that the former ambassador materially misled ministers and officials about his relationship with Epstein if they wanted to avoid paying him compensation.
The Foreign Office was sent details of the cache of emails early on Tuesday, more than 30 hours before they were published by Bloomberg and 24 hours before the Prime Minister gave Lord Mandelson his support in Parliament.
Peter Mandelson is ‘a bomb waiting to go off’ say Labour MPs – with some of the stories that have appeared since his sacking hinting at the danger he could pose to the Prime Minister
The holiday snap that triggered his downfall: Lord Mandelson in a fluffy white dressing gown enjoying a chat with ‘best pal’ Epstein
Mandelson’s message in the ‘birthday book’ compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell, said Epstein was ‘my best pal!’
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who scored a rare success at Prime Minister’s Questions by harrying the Prime Minister on the Mandelson scandal, accused Sir Keir of lying about what he knew, and when, regarding Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein.
She said: ‘Looks like the Prime Minister and Labour MPs spent the week lying to the whole country about what they knew regarding Mandelson’s involvement with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.’
The Times said Lord Mandelson felt ‘ill-treated’ because the Prime Minister had succumbed to political pressure. He has made it clear through ‘allies’ that during his vetting interview he was specifically asked about his association with Epstein and made clear that he had carried on the link for many years. Those allies say he could not provide the emails because they were sent from an old account to which he no longer access.
The Prime Minister’s dwindling band of supporters describe him as ‘frustrated and a bit angry because he is having to deal with the conduct of others, rather than show what he is trying to do’, and justify the fiasco by saying: ‘He hired someone who didn’t tell him the full truth.’
Payouts for senior civil servants can be substantial.
Sir Philip Rutnam, the former permanent secretary at the Home Office who quit after accusing Priti Patel of bullying, settled his case for £340,000.
