Sir Keir Starmer is set to chair a cabinet meeting today as police assess allegations his former US ambassador Lord Mandelson leaked sensitive information from the heart of government to Jeffrey Epstein.
The Metropolitan Police is investigating allegations of misconduct in public office after emails appeared to show conversations between the ex-cabinet minister and paedophile financier about political matters, while the former was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government in 2009.
Ella Marriott, commander of the Met, said they would be reviewed to “determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation”.
In the latest tranche of Epstein files released by the US Justice Department, emails appear to show Lord Mandelson giving Epstein advance notice of a €500bn EU bank bailout in 2010.
Mandelson was emailed by Epstein, who wrote: “Sources tell me 500 b euro bailout , almost complete (sic).”
He then appears to reply: “Sd be announced tonight”.
Epstein then asks if he is home, to which Mandelson replies: “Just leaving No10… will call”.
The €500bn deal was approved the next day by European governments as they tried to pull the currency through the 2010 “Eurozone” crisis – where countries such as Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Cyprus were unable to repay or refinance their government debt.
The UK did not contribute to the bailout. However, the then chancellor Alistair Darling was present in Brussels for the negotiations.
Other emails appear to show Lord Mandelson telling Epstein he was “trying hard” to change government policy on bankers’ bonuses at his request, months after the convicted sex trafficker had paid tens of thousands of pounds to the peer’s husband.
Lord Mandelson has not responded to the latest allegations. However, in an interview with The Times carried out last week but published on Monday, he referred to a “handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending”, and described Epstein as “muck that you can’t get off your shoe”.