"Sir Keir Starmer explicitly asked Lord Mandelson about his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein before deciding to appoint him as the UK's ambassador to the US, the BBC understands. The prime minister is believed to have asked Mandelson three questions relating to his friendship with the disgraced financier while he was being vetted for the influential role. The revelation is likely to pile further scrutiny on what Sir Keir knew before the Labour peer got the job."
"Mandelson was asked to leave his post on Thursday after a now notorious cache of emails was reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday evening. These included supportive messages Mandelson sent after Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008. In one message, Mandelson is reported to have told Epstein to "fight for early release" and, the day before he began his prison sentence, another which read: "I think the world of you.""
Sir Keir Starmer explicitly questioned Lord Mandelson about his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein during vetting for the UK ambassador to the US role. The prime minister asked three specific questions sent via his chief of staff, including why Mandelson maintained contact after Epstein's conviction and why he was reported to have stayed in one of Epstein's homes while Epstein was in prison. Mandelson was asked to resign after Bloomberg reported a cache of emails showing supportive messages Mandelson sent following Epstein's 2008 guilty plea. The Cabinet Office prepared a file on the links, but the emails did not appear in two Whitehall vetting processes. No 10 and Mandelson declined to comment, and Downing Street said new information prompted the sacking.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]