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Rachel FlynnLive reporter<\/p>\n
A recap of a dramatic day in Westminsterpublished at 10:16 GMT<\/p>\n
10:16 GMT<\/p>\n
Rachel Flynn
Live reporter<\/p>\n
Ministers pledge to release Mandelson appointment documents – but with caveats<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the Conservatives put forward a motion in Parliament demanding the government release all documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador.<\/p>\n
Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC the documents would be published with “maximum transparency”<\/a>, but with exemptions for anything which could damage national security or diplomatic relations.<\/p>\n Gasps as Badenoch and Starmer spar at PMQs<\/p>\n Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch pushed the prime minister on whether he was aware Mandelson had continued his friendship with Epstein after his conviction, and whether it came up during vetting.<\/p>\n “Yes, it did,” Starmer said to audible gasps in the Commons. Watch the moment:<\/p>\n Media caption, <\/p>\n Watch: \u2019Did the official security vetting mention Epstein and Mandelson\u2019s relationship?\u2019<\/p>\n The government’s position unravels <\/p>\n Later, a dramatic debate in the Commons ended with MPs backing proposals to release the Mandelson documents without a vote.<\/p>\n Some MPs were furious that some documents might be withheld on national security grounds, with former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner one of several Labour MPs who intervened. <\/p>\n In a last-minute concession, the government agreed that any sensitive documents deemed a risk to national security should be referred to Parliament’s cross-party Intelligence and Security Committee.<\/a><\/p>\n