MPs back release of files on Mandelson’s US role

MPs have approved the release of documents relating to Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as British ambassador to the United States.

- PRESS ASSOCIATION REPORTERS

It comes after the Prime Minister backed down from his original plans for top civil servant Sir Chris Wormald to decide which documents could not be released on national security grounds or because they could prejudice international relations.

Under pressure from Labour MPs, led by former deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Sir Keir Starmer accepted the decision could be made by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) instead.

However, a minister told the House the documents would not be released immediately after a request from the Metropolitan Police.

Sir Keir earlier told the Commons he knew about the former Business Secretary's ongoing friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when he appointed him ambassador to the US. But he said the peer “lied repeatedly” about the extent of the relationship.

Lord Mandelson, a political appointment rather than a career diplomat, was sacked from his Washington role in September last year over his links with Epstein, who died in 2019.