KEIR Starmer is facing calls to resign as Prime Minister after UK Government files underlined how he appointed Peter Mandelson to the US ambassador role despite knowing of his ties to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and a warning from the national security adviser.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet Office published the first tranche of files related to the decision to appoint Mandelson, which revealed he was handed £75,000 of public money when he was fired after just seven months. He had asked for £547,000.
The files also show that national security adviser Jonathan Powell warned the appointment process had been “weirdly rushed”, but was dismissed by Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s then-chief of staff.
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A “due diligence” document drawn up in December 2024, before Mandelson’s appointment to the Washington role in February 2025, noted a series of reports detailing his links with Epstein – including that he had stayed at the paedophile’s home even after he was first convicted of procuring an underage girl in 2008.
In the wake of the documents’ publication, Starmer was facing calls to resign from both the right and the left.
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay MSP said: “Mandelson’s appointment was made at the direct instruction of Keir Starmer, despite serious warnings about the reputational risks of doing so.
“Time and time again the victims are forgotten, while powerful men close ranks to protect their own. That culture of impunity has no place in public life, and it should have no place in government either.
“The Prime Minister chose to appoint him. The Prime Minister oversaw the government that authorised this pay-out. The Prime Minister is therefore responsible for the scandal that has followed. If the Prime Minister has any sense of responsibility left, he should do the honourable thing and resign.”
The Green leader in England and Wales, Zack Polanski, also called for Starmer to step down. “These files confirm that Mandelson's malign influence runs through this Labour Government,” Polanski said.
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“Starmer knew exactly the choice he was making when he appointed him. He has to go.”
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said that Starmer’s decision to prioritise “Labour Party politics over the interests of Epstein’s victims” was a “failure of judgement that will rightly haunt his last days in Downing Street”.
He went on: “It is now clear beyond doubt that the Prime Minister was warned about the close relationship that Peter Mandelson maintained with Jeffrey Epstein, the world’s most notorious paedophile, after his conviction but chose to appoint him anyway.
“The fact that the Labour Government then paid Mandelson a £75,000 taxpayer-funded golden goodbye adds insult to injury.
"A shadow of scandal followed Peter Mandelson every day of his career – the very same shadow of scandal is now a permanent stain on this UK Labour Government."
Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf also called for the Prime Minister to step down, saying on social media that the newly published files “prove Starmer was advised and warned about Mandelson’s appalling friendship with Epstein”.
“Starmer appointed him anyway. Starmer lied. Starmer must resign,” he added.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has already called for the Prime Minister to quit over the scandal.
Starmer has taken responsibility for the appointment of Mandelson, but has argued he “lied repeatedly” about his relationship with Epstein.
In a letter to the Ethics and Integrity Commission’s chair Doug Chalmers, the Prime Minister pledged to “go further to strengthen standards in public life”.
He wrote: “While the specifics of the case are now a matter for the police, this scandal has rightfully led many to reflect on our systems, infrastructure, and processes for upholding standards more broadly.
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“We have, of course, already taken action in this area. We strengthened the powers of the independent adviser, introduced financial sanctions for breaches of the ministerial code, reformed severance payments, and tightened rules around gifts and hospitality with more frequent transparency declarations.
“However, we can still do more and I believe that we should continue to go further to strengthen standards in public life.
“In particular, we should look again at how ministers declare and publish their financial interests, at how the government ensures transparency around lobbying, and at how we ensure the rules that govern post-employment activity are fit for purpose, in respect of managing potentially improper access to, and influence within, government.”
Mandelson was sacked as US ambassador in September 2025 and then arrested on February 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, having been accused of passing sensitive information to Epstein during his time as business secretary.
The former Labour minister was subsequently bailed, but later released from his bail conditions, although he remains under investigation.
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