Keir Starmer has accused Peter Mandelson of betraying the country and lying to Downing Street about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, as the prime minister comes under pressure over his initial decision to appoint Mandelson as US ambassador.
Speaking in PMQs on Wednesday, Starmer said he regretted appointing Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the US, and announced that he had agreed with the King to remove him from the Privy Council over the growing scandal surrounding his relationship with Epstein.
Starmer admitted to MPs that he was aware of Mandelson's relationship with the paedophile financier when he appointed him as the UK's ambassador in Washington, but said that Mandelson "lied" to him about the depth and extent of that relationship.
The PM sacked Mandelson as the UK's ambassador in the US in September after more details about the nature of his relationship with Epstein emerged.
Starmer said that Mandelson had "completely misrepresented the extent of his relationship with Epstein and lied throughout the process".
On Tuesday night, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it will investigate the former cabinet minister for misconduct in public office.
Earlier in the day, Mandelson, who was a key figure in the New Labour administrations of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and has remained an influential figure in the Labour Party, said he would resign from the House of Lords amid growing outrage over his links to Epstein.
The government is also planning to use legislation to remove Mandelson's peer title — an action which no UK government has taken since World War One.
Millions of court documents relating to Epstein were published by the US Department of Justice on Friday, revealing that Mandelson had shared confidential and high-level UK government information with him, including that the euro bailout was coming.
Speaking on Wednesday, Starmer said: "To learn that there was a cabinet minister leaking sensitive information at the height of the response to the 2008 crash is beyond infuriating.
"And I am as angry as the public and any member of this house. Mandelson betrayed our country, our parliament, and my party."
"Mr Speaker, he [Mandelson] lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador.
"I regret appointing him.
"If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government."
On Tuesday, CSW's sister publication PoliticsHome reported that the Prime Minister was coming under growing pressure from Labour MPs to sack his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, over his key role in the original appointment of Mandelson as US ambassador.
Questioned by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, the PM defended McSweeney, who is seen as the driving force of the Starmer project, and said he had confidence in him.
"Morgan McSweeney is an essential part of my team. He helped me change the Labour Party and win an election. Of course, I have confidence in him," he said.
The Conservatives are calling on Starmer to publish all documents regarding the vetting of Mandelson ahead of his appointment as US ambassador. The PM has said that he intends to publish all relevant documents, apart from those that could undermine national security and international relations. MPs will vote on what should be published later on Wednesday.
The PM also said that the Metropolitan Police had been in touch "to raise issues about anything that would prejudice their investigations".
"We're in discussion with them about that, and I hope to be able to update the House," he added.
This article was written by Matila Martin, a reporter at PoliticsHome, where this story first appeared