After a string of new Epstein revelations over the weekend Peter Mandelson wrote to Labour’s general secretary Hollie Ridley last night to resign his Labour membership and said:
“I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.
Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me.
While doing this, I do not wish to cause further embarrassment to the Labour Party and I am therefore stepping down from membership of the party.
I want to take this opportunity to repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now.
I have dedicated my life to the values and success of the Labour Party and in taking my decision, I believe I am acting in its best interests.”
Starmer vaguely suggested that Mandelson should testify before Congress: “Anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that.” Couldn’t even bring himself to remove Mandelson’s membership himself…
The scandal will persist – tax lawyer Dan Neidle is pursuing several lines of inquiry on Mandelson this morning including what he claims to be evidence of him passing internal sensitive No10 documents to Epstein. The Tories have managed to produce a call for a “thorough independent investigation” into Mandy:
“Keir Starmer and his Chief of Staff appointed Mandelson Ambassador despite his relationship with Epstein, and then refused to act even as the mountain of evidence against him grew.
“Given the Prime Minister’s appalling lack of judgment and the participation of his Downing Street operation, there must now be a full and thorough independent investigation.”
How long before he gets a sit-down interview with the BBC and a chin-stroking magazine article series this time?
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”