Politics latest: ‘Outraged’ minister says Mandelson should give £75,000 US ambassador payout to charity – UK Times

The 31 files released by the Government on Wednesday did not include correspondence between No 10 and Lord Mandelson, in which a number of follow-up questions were asked about his relationship with Epstein.

MPs were told those exchanges remained subject to the Metropolitan Police’s ongoing investigation into the peer over allegations of misconduct in public office.

The prime minister has been dogged by questions over his judgment in making a political appointment to place Lord Mandelson in Washington, rather than giving the role to a career diplomat.

A government minister has called for Peter Mandelson to hand his £75,000 payout to charity, saying he shares the “moral outrage” over the severance package.

It comes after it was revealed that the disgraced peer had asked for more than £500,000 when he was sacked as ambassador.

A day after the sum was revealed in government files, Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News: “I frankly share the moral outrage that Peter Mandelson is still in possession of that £75,000.

“Now you can look at the documents, you can see on a value for money basis why that decision was made. There was an original request for £547,000 that was negotiated down to £75,000…

“But from a moral point of view, it is incredibly difficult to even think that that money is still being retained.

“So what I would say is, do the decent thing, do the honourable thing, donate that money to charity. And I would suggest perhaps a charity supporting victims might be appropriate.”

The dossier, which shows that the prime minister was issued with clear warnings over Mandelson’s links with Epstein, will pile further pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, who is facing growing questions over his judgement in appointing the Labour grandee to such a sensitive diplomatic role.

The revelations, published on the government’s website as a nearly 150-page PDF, come after MPs ordered the government last month to release tens of thousands of documents relating to the 2024 appointment following questions over how the peer was vetted.

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A government minister has said that “of course” warnings about Peter Mandelson’s links with Epstein issued in due diligence documents “raised concerns” for Sir Keir Starmer.

It comes after the release of the first trance of Mandelson files yesterday, which showed that the prime minister was explicitly warned about the former US ambassador’s links with Epstein before he was apppointed.

Asked about the warnings, Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News: “Of course that raised concerns, it says in it about Peter Mandelson reportedly staying in Jeffrey Epstein’s house at that time. There’s a quote in there from Lord Mandelson’s spokesperson about the nature of the relationship.

“That, of course, prompted questions, as you would expect it to do. And I’m sure any of your viewers who look at this document – and you can look at it quite openly – would also prompt serious questions.

“The prime minister then did order questions to be put to Lord Mandelson. He has said he was misled and he deeply regrets believing the reassurances he was given.”

The vetting process wasn’t fully complete by the time Peter Mandelson took up his role as US ambassador, a minister has admitted, saying it is “hugely important” that lessons are learnt.

Speaking about plans to reform the vetting process for appointments, Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News: “I think you’ll see in the documents that the processes weren’t fully completed by the point at which the taking up the post of ambassador to Washington took place.

“We’re saying first of all that this process has to be fully completed before people take up post. But there are also perfectly legitimate questions to be asked about that process.

“And absolutely we’re saying that we shouldn’t just be moving on from this – whether its in terms of vetting or indeed standards in public life. We’re also looking at things around lobbying around transparency, financial disclosures of ministers.”

He added: “It’s hugely important that collectively we learn the lessons. That’s exactly the work that the prime minister is leading.”

Sir Keir Starmer will face fresh questions about his decision to make Lord Mandelson US ambassador after it emerged he was warned of a “general reputational risk” before the appointment.

The Prime Minister is expected to speak to journalists during a visit to Belfast on Thursday following the release of files showing senior officials had concerns about the peer taking up the role in Washington.

The public appearance will be his first since the publication on Wednesday of the first tranche of papers relating to the peer released by the Government in response to a demand from MPs.

Following the release, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour MPs should consider whether Sir Keir is “fit to run our country” after being “dishonest with them, with the country, with Parliament, about what he knew.”

The Prime Minister has insisted Lord Mandelson “lied repeatedly” to Downing Street about his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, before and during his tenure as ambassador.