Mandelson-Starmer latest: Claims Rayner warned PM over peer’s Epstein links after police search his homes – UK Times

Angela Rayner warned Sir Keir Starmer not to appoint Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador due to his links to Jeffrey Epstein, it has been reported.

Sources told The Times on Friday Ms Rayner had privately warned the prime minister that appointing Lord Mandelson would be a mistake because of evidence of his continued relationship to Epstein after his conviction for sex offences.

The former deputy prime minister publicly applied pressure on Sir Keir this week after she called for him to release the vetting documents related to Lord Mandelson’s appointment.

Britain will “turn the corner” faster if the government backs Sir Keir Starmer, a minister has said.

Asked whether the prime minister had become a “drag” on the Labour Party, Home Office minister Mike Tapp told Sky News: “We’re starting to turn the corner.

“I believe if we stick with Keir Starmer, which we will, then that corner will turn faster and people will start to feel it.

“But I completely understand the anger and the distress at what’s happened with Peter Mandelson’s appointment. I completely agree with that, and that’s why I’m really pleased to see a genuine, genuine apology from Keir Starmer.”

He added that Sir Keir had “clearly” been lied to during Lord Mandelson’s vetting process, saying: “I trust that, I trust Keir Starmer.

“Let’s see what comes out from the documents. I think transparency is vital and that’s what we’re getting from this government.”

Police have left Lord Mandelson’s property in London carrying several boxes.

Seven officers exited the front door of the house in Camden at about 8.23pm, one carrying a white cardboard box and another with a blue plastic one.

Reporters’ cameras flashed as they drove away in cars that had been parked outside the building.

Earlier, officers were seen searching a car parked outside the address.

Plain-clothed officers wearing blue medical gloves used torches to search the Range Rover.

They left his Camden property shortly before 8.15pm and spent around three minutes looking inside the vehicle before returning to the house.

Figures across the political spectrum – including MPs in his own party – have questioned the prime minister’s judgement, with some declaring “it’s over” for Starmer.

But who could his replacement be, and could they unite a warring party?

Athena Stavrou has more here:

Senior government figures will have to hand over their messages with Peter Mandelson ahead of the release of files related to the prime minister’s decision to appoint the former peer as US ambassador despite his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

The government is set to publish Mandelson’s vetting documents in the hopes that transparency will help Sir Keir Starmer weather the political storm threatening his leadership, after he apologised to victims of Epstein for the appointment.

Police have left Lord Mandelson’s property in London carrying several boxes.

Seven officers exited the front door of the house in Camden at about 8.23pm, one carrying a white cardboard box and another with a blue plastic one.

Reporters’ cameras flashed as they drove away in cars that had been parked outside the building.

Our community viewed Dame Karen Pierce’s removal as an unnecessary and gendered misjudgement, sidelining an effective diplomat in favour of ‘one of the boys’.

Sir Keir Starmer has written to the chair of parliament’s intelligence and security committee saying the government wishes to “engage constructively” over the release of vetting files concerning Lord Mandelson.

In the letter, dated 6 February, the prime minister says he has instructed the cabinet secretary to “work with you and your committee to agree the detail of how material that may be prejudicial to the UK’s National Security and International Relations is shared and reviewed, having regard to the requirements of the Metropolitan Police investigation”.

He adds: “As you note in your letter, it is important that documents are made available to parliament as soon as possible, noting that there is likely to be a very significant volume of material that will need to be reviewed to establish whether it is in scope.

“Above all else, the government wishes to engage constructively with the ISC, and to ensure that parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency it deserves. I have asked the Cabinet Secretary to follow up.”

The government is in need of a “complete reset”, the former Labour first minister of Scotland has said.

Lord McConnell, who led the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007, has said it’s time for Sir Keir Starmer to stop blaming advisers for mistakes and “step up”.

“To me there needs to be a complete reset here, not one of the half-hearted resets that we’ve seen,” he told Times Radio.

He called for Labour figures to “show us what you’ve got” in what he described as a “moment of desperate need” for the party.

“We need somebody now to step up and see that they can deliver that and they could most of all that they can provide hope for the people in the country.”

Gordon Brown has said he deeply regrets bringing Peter Mandelson into his government, according to a report in The Guardian.

Writing in the newspaper, the former prime minister said he takes responsibility for Lord Mandelson’s appointment and that revelations the peer had leaked sensitive information had caused him revulsion.

“I have to take personal responsibility for appointing Mandelson to his ministerial role in 2008. I greatly regret this appointment,” he wrote, adding he did not know about his links to Epstein.

“I did so in spite of him being anything but a friend to me, because I thought that his unquestioned knowledge of Europe and beyond could help us as we dealt with the global financial crisis.

“I now know that I was wrong. He seems to have used market-sensitive inside information to betray the principles in which he said he believed, and he betrayed the people who believed in them – and him.”