Sir Keir Starmer could be facing renewed pressure as a result of the Peter Mandelson scandal, as the next tranche of files is said to be expected as early as next week.
The prime minister – who is clinging on to his premiership amid growing calls to resign – has been constantly embattled by the fallout of his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.
The former Labour peer was sacked last September when new information about his links to Jeffrey Epstein emerged, but the scandal has threatened to bring down the government several times since then.
MPs ordered the government to publish a huge tranche of documents connected to the appointment in February, but so far only a handful have been released.
According to Sky News, Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee – which decides which documents are excluded on the basis of being prejudicial to the national interest or damaging to international relations – is expected to announce the release of further files, which could come as soon as next week.
open image in galleryFollowing his sacking, Lord Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party and the House of Lords in March when fresh emails surfaced in the latest tranche of the so-called Epstein files in the US.
He was arrested in late February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following claims he had leaked sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein when Lord Mandelson was business secretary under then-prime minister Gordon Brown.
Sir Keir has faced repeated calls to resign over the scandal, which Labour politicians said had hurt the party on the doorstep ahead of their devastating defeat in local elections last week.
Last month, Sadiq Khan warned the “omnishambles” of his appointment had left Labour in danger of “being stonked” across London in the local elections. The party went on to face defeats both in the capital and in historic strongholds across the country.
The party’s losses at the polls has left Sir Keir fighting for his political life, with almost 100 Labour MPs having publicly called for his resignation so far.
open image in galleryAs pressure continues to pile onto the prime minister, his health secretary Wes Streeting is said to be preparing to stage a leadership challenge, despite the prime minister stating he retained “full confidence” in the health secretary on Wednesday.
His former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner also appeared to pave the way for a bid on Thursday, as she revealed she has been cleared of deliberate wrongdoing following an investigation into her tax affairs.
The further release of Mandelson files will undoubtedly pile further pressure onto Sir Keir if he has not yet resigned, but also threatens to implicate potential leadership challengers in government at the time of the appointment.
Mr Streeting last month admitted he failed to take reports of Lord Mandelson’s links to paedophile Epstein seriously when they emerged in 2023.
open image in galleryThe health secretary, who has faced questions over his political relationship and friendship with the disgraced peer, said he “absolutely” questioned his own judgement on the matter and said there had been a political and media failure to ask enough questions about their relationship before Lord Mandelson took up his post.
In February, Mr Streeting published a series of texts between himself and Lord Mandelson, revealing his criticism of Sir Keir Starmer’s government, after Sky News suggested that he was “close friends” with Lord Mandelson.
The health secretary dismissed the claim as a “smear” by his critics within the party, although he admitted Lord Mandelson had helped him in the past, and he went on to delete social media posts with pictures of the two.