Sir Keir Starmer has said he would have “never appointed” Peter Mandelson if he knew then what he knows now.
It is the first time Sir Keir has spoken publicly since he sacked Lord Mandelson on Thursday night, when the pressure to get rid of him became too much after more emails between the Labour peer and Epstein were released.
They revealed Lord Mandelson, a minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, sent messages of support to the convicted paedophile financier even as he faced jail for sex offences in 2008.
Sir Keir is now facing further pressure over his leadership abilities due to his handling of Lord Mandelson’s sacking.
The Times reported Downing Street and the Foreign Office were aware of the emails on Tuesday, the day before Sir Keir gave his ambassador to the US his backing at Prime Minister’s Questions.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Sir Keir of “lying to the whole country” about what he knew of Lord Mandelson’s involvement with Epstein.
Labour MPs have also joined in, both in private and publicly, as they question what Sir Keir knew and when.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle telling Sky News that appointing Lord Mandelson to the job was judged to be “worth the risk” at the time has not gone down well with Labour backbenchers.
The timing of Lord Mandelson’s sacking, just before Labour MPs and supporters gather for their party conference, comes at a particularly bad moment for Sir Keir.
This breaking news story is being updated, and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
