Labour grandee Dame Emily Thornberry questioned why ‘red flags’ had been missed as calls grow for Peter Mandelson to have the party whip withdrawn
Keir Starmer faces calls to kick Peter Mandelson out of the Labour Party, and apologise to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s victims.
MPs demanded answers over why it took so long for Lord Mandelson to be sacked as US Ambassador after chilling emails he sent came to light. Leading Labour MP Dame Emily Thornberry said “red flags” had been missed when Lord Mandelson was appointed as the UK’s Trump whisperer.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey told the Commons: “As we remember the victims, how must it have felt for them to see Donald Trump, one of Epstein’s closest friends and a man found liable for sexual abuse himself, become President of the United States.
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“How must it have felt for the victims to see another of Epstein’s closest friends made British ambassador to the United States? How must it have felt for the victims to see the Prime Minister defend Lord Mandelson last week, even after he’d seen those appalling messages?”
And Labour backbencher Richard Burgon demanded to know why Lord Mandelson is still allowed to sit as a Labour peer – when other MPs have had the whip withdrawn for rebelling.
He said it was “unfair” that some – including Diane Abbott and those who opposed cuts to disability benefits – were suspended. The Leeds East MP said: “It surprises me that we have a situation where the honourable member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) has been unfairly suspended from the Labour whip, along with others, for opposing disability benefit cuts.
“The Mother of the House (Diane Abbott) remains suspended from the Labour Party, yet Lord Mandelson retains the Labour whip in the House of Lords.”
And Apsana Begum, who had the Labour whip removed after rebelling over the two-child benefit cap, told MPs she and Ms Abbott “appear to be held to some standards while Lord Mandelson appears to be held to another”. Labour MP Florence Eshalomi replied: “I hope that with time that the Labour leadership will look at some of the issues around suspension.”
During an often tense debate, Dame Emily – who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee – questioned whether those vetting Lord Mandelson were told to “overlook” a “glaring national security and reputational risk”. She said: “The question is this, did the Cabinet Office miss the glaring red flag of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein, or did it fail to pass those concerns on.”
Tory Sir David Davis, who called for the emergency debate, said: “It has diminished the standing of our Prime Minister, and I regret that.”
In a difficult exchange for the Government, Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty was met with laughter as he said: “The Prime Minister had been explicitly clear that the new information is and was not compatible with the duty that we owe the victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s horrendous crimes against women and girls,” and insisted: “He has been explicitly clear.”
Mr Doughty said he has made “very clear our position on Epstein’s victims and our horror at the revelations”.
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