Good morning. Peter Mandelson’s career in politics appears to be over. To be fair, journalists have written this at least four times before. But this time it may actually turn out to be true.
It was my former Guardian colleague David Hencke who first wrote a story in 1998 about a career-ending Mandelson scandal. It involved an undisclosed loan from a millionaire, and Mandelson resigned as trade secretary. Three years later Mandelson was back in cabinet, as Northern Ireland secretary, when he had to resign again, over another story involving a favour and a rich person (this time a billionaire – Mandelson’s appetite for scandal has been upwardly mobile). After a stint as a European commissioner, he returned to cabinet and it was assumed that Labour’s defeat in the 2010 general election would finish his politcal career. “All of us believe in dignity in retirement,” said Ed Miliband, the incoming Labour leader, explaining why he would not be giving Mandelson a job.
But Keir Starmer did give Mandelson a job – a dream one, ambassador to the US. But there was no dignity in retirement. In September Mandelson was sacked over his past links with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted child sex offender. And last night, as further revelations about his dealing with Epstein came to light, Mandelson resigned from the Labour party.
Here is our overnight story, by Alexandra Topping and Pippa Crerar.
As Mandelson explained in his statement last night, he says is quitting the party primarily because of the embarassment caused by documents in the Epstein suggesting Epstein paid him $75,000. Mandelson believes this claim this false, and that the documentation is not accurate.
But he has not contested another revelation that has emerged in the Epstein files, showing that in 2009 he advised Epstein on how JPMorgan, the investment bank, should lobby his cabinet colleague Alistair Darling, the then chancellor, against a proposed tax on bankers’ bonsuses.
As Jim Pickard reports in his story for the Financial Times, Epstein emailed Mandelson to ask if the new tax might only apply to the cash portion of bonuses. Pickard says:
Mandelson responded within minutes: “Trying hard to amend as I explained to Jes last night. Treasury digging in but I am on case.” Epstein replied with: “let me know before jes please”, in an apparent reference to Jes Staley, then a senior banker at JPMorgan.
Two days later on December 17, Epstein emailed Mandelson asking whether Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan, should “call darling one more time?”
Mandelson replied, saying: “Yes and mildly threaten.”
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Kemi Badenoch and Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, are on a visit in London.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Morning: Nick Thomas-Symonds, the EU relations minister, holds a meeting with his EU counterpart, Maroš Šefčovič. Šefčovič also has a meeting with Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, and Peter Kyle, the business secretary.
2.30pm: John Healey, the defence secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
After 3.30pm: Keir Starmer is expected to make a statement to MPs about his trip to China.
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