Starmer defended Mandelson after No 10 had received Epstein emails'

"The Foreign Office received a media enquiry outlining details of the messages on Tuesday, which was passed to No 10, the PA news agency and the Times have reported. Sir Oliver Robbins, the permanent undersecretary at the Foreign Office, allegedly asked Mandelson about the veracity of the emails he wrote to Epstein but did not receive a response until Wednesday afternoon, a government source told PA."

"We saw through the welfare reforms that they did the same again. They didn't tell Keir, they didn't tell the prime minister how bad it was on the back benches. So, you know, he was putting statements out saying, oh, some people can sound off'. Well, the strength of feeling in the PLP was much, much deeper than that. And again, I just think that whoever's gatekeeping the information to the prime minister needs to stop."

A media enquiry about damning emails between Lord Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein was received by the Foreign Office on Tuesday and passed to No 10. Sir Oliver Robbins asked Mandelson about the veracity of the emails but did not receive a response until Wednesday afternoon. The prime minister did not learn the emails' contents until Wednesday evening and had already expressed confidence in Mandelson during midday Commons questions. Mandelson was sacked as British ambassador to the US on Thursday after the emails were published, revealing Mandelson told Epstein "your friends stay with you and love you" while Epstein faced jail. Backbench MP Olivia Blake criticised delays in informing the prime minister and urged earlier information-sharing.

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