A Cabinet minister has denounced Peter Mandelson for lying to the prime minister in the wake of his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Bridget Phillipson defended Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador, saying the PM sacked him “as soon as it became clear the full extent of what had been going on”.
She also signalled the government still plans to release documents about Lord Mandelson’s appointment in early March, a move announced in the House of Commons on Monday just before the peer was arrested at his London home.
The former Labour minister has been accused of passing on information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein when he was business secretary.
Sir Keir has faced considerable criticism over his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson to the position despite his links to Epstein, with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar calling for him to resign.
The prime minister admitted knowing about Lord Mandelson’s ongoing friendship with Epstein, but said the peer “lied repeatedly’ about the extent of the relationship when questioned.
Asked if the saga demonstrates that Sir Keir is a weak prime minister, Ms Phillipson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There are limits to what we can discuss given the ongoing nature of the police investigation.
“The prime minister sacked Peter Mandelson as soon as it became clear the full extent of what had been going on.
“He misled the prime minister, he misled people as part of that vetting process and he lied about the extent of engagement he continued to have with Jeffrey Epstein.”
She added: “I think it’s also worth saying that the only people responsible for what took place, the appalling abuse that young women experienced are those responsible for perpetrating those acts.”
Under pressure from Labour MPs and opposition parties, the prime minister last month agreed to release all the documents relating to the appointment.
Asked whether the government still planned to go ahead with its plans to publish documents amid the police investigation, the education secretary told Sky News: “My understanding is yes, but we do just need to be mindful of any documents we publish given the nature of the ongoing police investigation.
“So, we want to be transparent, we do want to push ahead with publishing documents, but we just need to make sure that nothing that’s published could compromise or call into question an ongoing police investigation.”
The Liberal Democrats will use a parliamentary debate on Tuesday to compel ministers to similarly release documents about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as trade envoy.
The former prince served as trade envoy between 2001 and 2011, and also faces accusations of sharing sensitive information with Epstein while in the role.
He was arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office, before being released under investigation.
Ms Phillipson would not reveal whether the government will support the Lib Dem humble address motion, which will be debated in the Commons after midday.
“We’ll review what they are asking for and will set our approach later on in Parliament,” she said.
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