Starmer says he has confidence in Peter Mandelson amid calls to sack him over Epstein ties – as it happened

6.05pm BST

Early evening summary

• Kemi Badenoch has renewed her call for Peter Mandelson to be sacked in the light of the new revelations published by the Sun about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. (See 5.48pm.) In an interview with the PM programme, Harry Cole, the Sun journalist who broke the story, said that, while the revelations were highly embarrassing, it would be awkward for Keir Starmer to get rid of Mandelson because of his Epstein links when Donald Trump also used to be a close friend of Epstein’s.

• Alison McGovern, the housing, communities and local government minister, has announced that she is withdrawing from Labour’s deputy leadership contest. (See 4.58pm.) She is now backing Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, who is the favourite and who is expected to have the 80 MP nominations need to be guaranteed a slot on the ballot when the latest nominations update comes out later this evening. Of the four others still in the contest, it is thought that at least three of them – Emily Thornberry, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Paula Barker – will fail to get the 80 nominations they need. Lucy Powell is thought to have the best chance of reaching that threshold.

• The Conservative party is facing questions over a possible breach of electoral law involving one of its largest benefactors, after leaked files cast doubt on official declarations of donations worth £2.6m.

• Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has told private equity bosses that she plans to shut down more regulators across the UK as she attempts to drive growth across Britain’s subdued economy.

For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.

Updated at 6.06pm BST

5.48pm BST

Badenoch says Mandelson 'needs to be fired now' following new Epstein revelations in Sun

Kemi Badenoch has renewed her call for Peter Mandelson to be sacked in the light of the new revelations published by the Sun about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. (See 5.19am.) In a post on social media she said:

These are sickening revelations.

Mandelson’s position is untenable. Why did Starmer defend him today? How was ‘full due process followed’?

This a weak Prime Minister, leading a Government mired in scandal. The public deserves better.

Peter Mandelson needs to be fired now.