Keir Starmer was “too slow” to address the Lord Mandelson scandal and Labour “must clean up or pay a heavy price”, Gordon Brown has warned. The former Prime Minister’s rare intervention comes as the peer was placed under investigation for his links to the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Among the accusations are that Lord Mandelson leaked market-sensitive No10 documents to Epstein during the 2008 financial crisis, while serving in Mr Brown’s cabinet. On Friday night, police raided Lord Mandelson’s homes in Camden and Wiltshire as part of an inquiry into alleged misconduct in public office.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
Mr Brown admitted he regretted appointing Lord Mandelson in 2008, describing the alleged leaking of commercially sensitive material as “a betrayal of everything we stand for as a country” and “a financial crime”. “I have to take personal responsibility for appointing Mandelson to his ministerial role in 2008. I greatly regret this appointment.”While insisting Sir Keir is “a man of integrity” who “wants to do the right things”, Mr Brown suggested he had acted too slowly in the matter.“Perhaps he’s been too slow to do the right thing. But he must do the right things now,” he said, urging the Prime Minister to act decisively. Mr Brown did provide some comfort for the embattled Sir Keir, defending his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.“Keir Starmer was misled, and he was betrayed. “There is a systematic failure to do proper vetting,” he wrote in The Guardian, demanding sweeping reforms. The former Prime Minister called for an anti-corruption tsar and a ban on most second jobs for MPs, warning: “There has been a system failure and we’ve got to rectify it.”LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:Britain sends fighter jets to RAF bases in Cyprus amid fears of US attack on IranFormer Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman dies aged 72 following cancer battleKeir Starmer told to ramp up attacks on Reform rather than ‘collaborative’ rival as PM left on brinkMORE TO FOLLOWOur Standards:
The GB News Editorial Charter GB News Read More