Keir Starmer could be forced to disclose confidential vetting documents from Peter Mandelson\u2019s appointment as US ambassador, with the Tories set to trigger a rare Commons vote to compel their release.<\/p>\n
Labour MPs have indicated they are not prepared to oppose the Conservative motion \u2013 known as a humble address \u2013 that would disclose the details of the vetting process and what if anything was known about Mandelson\u2019s links to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch plans to use the arcane parliamentary procedure on Wednesday to force the release of files relating to the appointment of Mandelson as the UK\u2019s ambassador to the US.<\/p>\n In a dramatic move that will put pressure on Starmer\u2019s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney<\/a>, Badenoch said she would use the procedure to uncover \u201cwhy the proper vetting never happened\u201d.<\/p>\n Badenoch is expected to say that Labour<\/a> MPs have a choice to \u201csupport our efforts to reveal the truth about how and why Peter Mandelson was appointed ambassador to Washington despite his known links to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein\u201d or to help Starmer and McSweeney \u201cdodge scrutiny over this sordid affair\u201d.<\/p>\n A fast-moving day in Westminster concluded with the Metropolitan police launching a criminal investigation<\/a> into allegations that Mandelson leaked Downing Street emails and market-sensitive information to convicted sex offender Epstein.<\/p>\n A humble address, the same mechanism that forced the release of key Brexit papers, would require the government to release all communications related to Mandelson\u2019s appointment including emails, WhatsApp messages and texts.<\/p>\n The rarely used parliamentary device could lead to the release of communications from Starmer, McSweeney and senior Foreign Office official Oliver Robbins, and reveal to what extent ministers were aware of the risks of appointing Mandelson. The Conservatives<\/a> will argue that McSweeney was \u201cdeeply implicated\u201d in the scandal, having reportedly pushed hard within No 10 for his appointment.<\/p>\n Badenoch also called on the cabinet secretary, Chris Wormald, to quiz the justice secretary, David Lammy, and the work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, about any information they may have had about Mandelson\u2019s behaviour as business secretary when they were junior ministers in his department.<\/p>\n The humble address will demand the immediate publication of the due diligence process passed on to No 10 from the Cabinet Office, the Conflict of Interest form Mandelson provided to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and material given to UK security vetting including documents about Global Counsel, the advisory firm he co-founded in 2010.<\/p>\n It would also include minutes of meetings, digital communications and all \u201cinformation provided to the prime minister prior to his assurance to this house on 10 September 2025 that full due process was followed during this appointment, as it is with all ambassadors\u201d, said a Conservative spokesperson.<\/p>\n Starmer told a meeting of the cabinet on Tuesday morning he was appalled by the reported leaks, and Downing Street officials confirmed that ministers had handed a dossier on Mandelson to the police.<\/p>\n