Keir Starmer should never have considered Mandelson for job, says Anas Sarwar
The Scottish Labour leader has criticised the Prime Minister’s judgement and tried to distance himself from the Mandelson scandal.
Anas Sarwar has said Peter Mandelson “should never have been considered” by the Prime Minister for high office.
The Scottish Labour leader also said Mandelson is a “shame on our nation” and has “betrayed the victims of Jeffrey Epstein”.
Mr Sarwar made the comments after Sir Keir Starmer admitted he was aware of Mandelson’s relationship with the disgraced financier Epstein when he appointed him as the UK ambassador to the US in 2024.
A police investigation has now been opened after Mandelson was accused of passing on highly-sensitive government information to Epstein while he was business secretary during the financial crisis.
Mandelson has also resigned from both the House of Lords and the Labour Party in recent days.
Mr Sarwar previously referred to Mandelson as an “old friend”, but has now tried to distance himself from the former MP and criticised Sir Keir’s decision-making as a “mistake”.
Speaking to journalists in Holyrood, Mr Sarwar said: “I am utterly disgusted and furious by the entire situation.
“Peter Mandelson should never have been considered to be ambassador, and never should have been ambassador.
“It is right he is no longer a member of the party and he should be stripped of all his titles, and it is right he is now being investigated by the police.”
When pressed, Mr Sarwar admitted he still supports Sir Keir as Prime Minister, but added “we need answers”.
The Scottish Labour leader added: “People will be furious.
“Peter Mandelson betrayed his country, he betrayed the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, he betrayed the party he once belonged to, and he should feel the full force of the law.
“That’s why we need full transparency of the process of decision-making.
“It was abundantly clear Peter Mandelson was not fit to be ambassador and he shouldn’t have been considered for the job.
“It is an utter disgrace and a shame to our nation.”
Mr Sarwar’s comments come after Sir Keir apologised to Epstein’s victims earlier on Thursday.
The Prime Minister said he was “sorry for having believed Mandelson's lies and appointed him” during a speech in the south of England.
He also said that “none of us knew depth and darkness” of the relationship between Lord Mandelson and the paedophile financier.
He said at an event in Hastings: “The victims of Epstein have lived with trauma that most of us can barely comprehend, and they've had to relive it again and again.
“They have seen accountability delayed and too often denied.
“To them, I want to say this. I am sorry, sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed you. Sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him and sorry that even now you’re forced to watch this story unfold in public once again.
“But I also want to say this: in this country, we will not look away, we will not shrug our shoulders, and we will not allow the powerful to treat justice as optional. We will pursue the truth. We will uphold the integrity of public life, and we will do everything within our power and in the interests of justice to ensure accountability is delivered.
“That is what the public expects. That is what the victims deserve, and it is what I will do.”
The Prime Minister said Lord Mandelson “portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew” when asked about it.
He added: “In recent days, serious allegations and serious evidence has emerged concerning Mandelson’s conduct, including his relationship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
“It had been publicly known for some time that Mandelson knew Epstein, but none of us knew the depth and the darkness of that relationship.”
He continued: “Before he was appointed ambassador, Mandelson was asked directly about the nature of his relationship with Epstein. He was asked whether he had stayed at Epstein after his conviction, but when later, further information came to light, he was asked whether he had accepted gifts and hospitality, about whether he had been fully transparent about the relationship.
“The information now available makes clear that the answers he gave were lies. He portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew, but when that became clear and it was not true, I sacked him. Such deceit is incompatible with public service.”
The PM added that he wanted to release documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to Washington DC on Wednesday, but the police had “advised that releasing certain information now could risk prejudicing a future investigation or legal process”.
SNP First Minister John Swinney said he is “appalled” at the unravelling Mandelson scandal during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday afternoon.
He told MSPs: “I’m absolutely appalled by the revelations that have come forward in recent days about the involvement of Peter Mandelson in sharing information at the height of the financial crisis with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted paedophile, while serving as a government minister, and that was somehow overlooked when he became Keir Starmer’s nominee to be the UK’s ambassador to the US.
“At the time of the crash I was taking decisions as the finance minister to make sure investment in housing could be sustained when private investment stalled.
“That was a direct financial decision affecting the livelihoods of the people of Scotland and I am appalled we were being undermined at the same time.”
He added the latest news on Mandelson is an "atrocious set of circumstances” and added: “It is dreadful Scotland and the UK has been exposed to such weakness as a consequence of the poor decision-making of the Prime Minister.”
Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser then questioned if the First Minister had any regrets about staying at Mandelson’s ambassador’s residence when he travelled to the US last year.
In response, Mr Swinney said: “I was not responsible for the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the ambassador to the US - that was the foolish and inept decision of the Prime Minister to appoint Anas Sarwar’s ‘old friend’ as ambassador to the US.
“When I go on overseas trips I have a choice of where to stay.
“The first people to complain if I had chosen to spend public money staying in a hotel rather than in the British Embassy would have been the Conservative Party members in this parliament.”
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