Epstein files: Starmer’s days as prime minister are numbered amid fury over Mandelson
Labour MPs have warned that Keir Starmer’s days as prime minister are numbered after a day of fury over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The government was on the brink of a defeat in the Commons until a mid-debate amendment brokered by Meg Hillier and Angela Rayner to force the release of documents about Mandelson’s appointment and the depth of his relationship with the convicted child sex offender.
MPs said the eventual release of the documents – which may be delayed by a police investigation into Mandelson – could trigger a leadership challenge. “We need all the poison to come out,” one MP said.
One former minister said: “We’ve had a lot of bad days recently, but this is the worst yet, I think,” while another MP warned: “Trust is finite. I’m personally not sure I could trust myself to back the prime minister in a confidence vote.”
“The most terminal mood is among the super-loyal,” an MP from the 2024 intake noted. [Continue reading…]
Peter Mandelson’s involvement with the US tech company Palantir must be exposed to full public transparency, campaigners have said, amid fears he may have leaked more sensitive information than is alleged in his emails to Jeffrey Epstein.
Palantir, a $300bn startup that provides military technology to the Israel Defense Forces and AI-powered deportation targeting for Donald Trump’s ICE units, has UK government contracts worth more than £500m. Global Counsel, a lobbying company Mandelson co-founded and part-owns, also works for Palantir.
The cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, is being urged to release information about Mandelson’s role when the British embassy arranged for Keir Starmer to visit Palantir’s showroom in Washington DC in February 2025 shortly after Mandelson became ambassador to the US. [Continue reading…]