Keir Starmer issues grovelling apology to Epstein victims for ‘believing’ Peter

The Prime Minister also said he won’t release information from the Peter Mandelson files as part of a ‘political game’ as he admitted his frustration that police have requested some documents to be restricted.

Starmer said:

I understand the strength of public feeling. I share the anger that people feel when powerful individuals appear to escape scrutiny. And I want to be able to release those documents as quickly as possible.

I wanted to release them yesterday, in fact, and to talk about them at Prime Minister’s Questions. But the police have advised that releasing certain information now could risk prejudicing a future investigation or legal process.

And however frustrating from my personal point of view that is, and it is, I will not take any step, however politically tempting, however popular, that risks justice for victims. Because this is not and must never become a political game.

Keir Starmer has said he is ‘sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him’ British ambassador to Washington.

He told a press conference:

The victims of Epstein have lived with trauma that most of us can barely comprehend. And they’ve had to relive it again and again. They have seen accountability delayed and too often denied. To them, I want to say this. I am sorry. I am sorry for what was done to you. Sorry that so many people failed you.

Sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him. And sorry that even now you’re forced to watch this story unfold in public once again. But I also want to say this. In this country we will not look away, we will not shrug our shoulders and we will not allow the powerful to treat justice as optional.

The Prime Minister immediately addresses the Mandelson scandal in Hastings as he tells the audience no one knew the ‘depth and darkness’ of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

He said:

I entered politics because I wanted to change our country for the better. To make it fairer, safer, more secure.

And I still believe that most people who serve in public life, whether as civil servants or elected politicians, do so for the same reason, because they believe in service. Because they believe in service.

Because they believe in duty. Because they believe in the public good. But that is not why some people do it. And that is not why Mandelson did it.

Keir Starmer’s news conference in Hastings is under way.

The Prime Minister will deliver a speech about improving Britain’s communities but can expect an avalanche of questions around the Peter Mandelson scandal.

You can watch the speech at the top of the page.

Keir Starmer is expected to speak at a sports centre in East Sussex shortly.

The Prime Minister will seek to move on from the fiasco with a speech focused on reversing community decline, but is likely to face further questions about Lord Mandelson.

Mandelson has quit the House of Lords, resigned from the Labour Party, been removed from the Privy Council and faces a criminal investigation following new revelations from the so-called Epstein files.

His appointment as US ambassador has led to questions surrounding Starmer’s judgment with his political future under threat as a result.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has predicted the publication of documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s ambassadorial appointment would lead to more trouble for Keir Starmer as well as Morgan McSweeney’s departure.

She told LBC:

I think that those papers are going to show all sorts of terrible decision-making and bad judgment by the Labour Government. I think Keir Starmer is only going to get into more trouble.

Mrs Badenoch will hold a press conference in Westminster later on Thursday morning, where she is expected to keep up pressure on the Prime Minister.

Here is the moment Keir Starmer tried to get on the front foot over the Peter Mandelson scandal at PMQs yesterday.

In response to the first question posed by Kemi Badenoch, the Prime Minister said Mandelson’s actions in emailing Epstein at the time of the global financial crash were ‘beyond infuriating’.

He said he was angry with Mandelson for lying ‘before and during’ his tenure as US ambassador.

Watch the video below:

Nigel Farage has told a rally in Wales he wants Keir Starmer to remain Prime Minister until the local elections in May.

The Reform leader said Starmer’s presence in Downing Street would benefit his party, joking he wanted him to ‘stay forever’.

He told a rally in Wales:

“This is far bigger than the Profumo scandal 60 years ago. This is the biggest scandal in British politics for over one century. And I would predict pretty confidently that Morgan McSweeney, the chief adviser, will be gone pretty quickly.

I don’t know how Starmer will last as Prime Minister. Indeed, I’m very worried about it. I want him to stay forever. When I say forever I mean until May 7, when we have the elections in Wales, Scotland, London and around the rest of the country.

Mail on Sunday columnist Dan Hodges hears Keir Starmer will attempt to ‘clarify’ his remarks in the Commons that he was aware of Peter Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

The Prime Minister’s response to a question put forward by Kemi Badenoch sparked widespread anger across the Labour backbenches which has left him today fighting for political survival.

Starmer is scheduled to speak in Sussex later today on his plan to save Britain’s high streets.

New files relating to Keir Starmer’s appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador will add more fuel to a scandal that could propel him out of Downing Street.

The Prime Minister has been forced to order the publication of a trove of papers after Kemi Badenoch forced a Commons vote on the issue.

The files will include details of what Lord Mandelson told Starmer and Morgan McSweeney about the nature of his relationship with Epstein.

This could prove deeply damaging to Starmer, who admitted for the first time yesterday that he appointed the New Labour grandee despite knowing he had remained friends with Epstein after his conviction.

It’s understood Starmer asked Mandelson three questions before appointing him to Washington. He asked why Mandelson:

1. Why he continued contact with Epstein after he was convicted
2. Why he stayed in Epstein’s home while he was in prison
3. Was he associated with a charity founded by Epstein.

WhatsApp exchanges sent on private phones may be included, as could information relating to negotiations around the ‘golden goodbye’ paid to Lord Mandelson after his sacking.

But last night there were doubts about how much material would be released after the Metropolitan Police warned against publishing anything that could undermine its criminal investigation into Lord Mandelson’s activities.

Another Labour backbencher has today declared Keir Starmer will have to make a decision about his future as he urged him to ditch his closest aides over the ‘shoddy advice’ he has received in Downing Street.

Karl Turner, MP for Kingston Upon Hull East, said the atmosphere in the Commons was the ‘angriest’ he had witnessed after Starmer admitted he knew Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein had an ongoing relationship at the time he was appointed US ambassador.

Mr Turner told Times Radio he forwarded messages from people expressing their anger directly to the prime minister last night.

He thanked me, and I suspect he thanked those who were then messaging him.

My advice to the prime minister is get rid of those advisers who have frankly given terrible advice to him over weeks and months. The PM needs to deal with that and make a decision. If the PM decides he has to be surrounded by advisers who give him shoddy advice the reality of that is the prime minister is going to have to make a decision about his future some point soon

If McSweeney is still in 10 Downing Street the PM is up against it.

Labour MP and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has called for a ‘caretaker leader’ to replace Keir Starmer in the wake of the Mandelson scandal.

Mr McDonnell, a key figure under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, said he had lost confidence in Starmer and that there needed to be a ‘cleansing of our party and politics’.

He made the remarks on X.