The Prime Minister is under mounting pressure to explain when he first knew about messages between Peter Mandelson and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after an SNP MP raised fresh concerns in Parliament.
Speaking in the Commons, Graham Leadbitter, MP for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, accused the UK government of “hiding behind process” following the sacking of Mandelson from his role as ambassador to the United States.
Leadbitter directly asked whether the Prime Minister was aware of the leaked messages before defending Mandelson’s appointment at Prime Minister’s Questions earlier this week.
The question was not answered by Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty, who was responding on behalf of the government.
“The Prime Minister hid behind process at PMQs when he defended his appointment of Mandelson,” said Leadbitter.
“But they still have serious questions to answer.”
He added:
“Did the Prime Minister know about these messages before appointing Mandelson and if so, why on earth did he appoint him and not sack him sooner?”
Leaked messages, the contents of which have not yet been made public in full, are understood to show communications between Mandelson and Epstein, who died in a US jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The government has insisted the sacking was based on a breach of diplomatic conduct, but has not clarified the timeline around what the Prime Minister knew and when.
“This issue puts Keir Starmer’s judgement and reputation under the spotlight,” said Leadbitter.
“This will not go away anytime soon.
“He should come clean right away and reveal what he knew and when.”
There has so far been no direct response from Downing Street to the SNP’s questions.
