Keir Starmer was warned of ‘reputational risk’ of Peter Mandelson

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Keir Starmer was warned that Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein posed a “reputational risk” before the Labour peer became US ambassador. Files released on Wednesday show that Starmer was told of a JP Morgan report, commissioned in 2019, which found that Mandelson had kept a “particularly close relationship” with the financier after he was convicted for soliciting sex from a minor. The documents also show that Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser, described Mandelson’s appointment as “weirdly rushed”. When Mandelson was forced to resign as ambassador last year, it raised concerns about the judgement of the prime minister, who has said that the Labour stalwart “lied repeatedly” about the depth of his friendship with Epstein. These concerns were not dispelled yesterday.