"Let me start where I must: with the victims of Epstein. All our thoughts are with them. Our thoughts are also with all those who lost jobs, savings and livelihoods in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. To learn that there was a Cabinet Minister leaking sensitive information at the height of the response to the 2008 crash is beyond infuriating, and I am as angry as the public and any Member of this House. Mandelson betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party. He lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein, before and during his tenure as ambassador. I regret appointing him. If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near Government. That is why yesterday the Cabinet Secretary, with my support, took the decision to refer material to the police, and there is now a criminal investigation. I have instructed my team to draft legislation to strip Mandelson of his title, and wider legislation to remove disgraced peers. This morning I have agreed with His Majesty the King that Mandelson should be removed from the list of Privy Counsellors on the grounds that he has brought the reputation of the Privy Council into disrepute."
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Members of the Parliament of the United KingdomLawyers from EnglandLabour Party (UK) politiciansPeople from LondonUniversity of Oxford alumni
Original Language: English
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Statement on Mandelson at Prime Minister's Questions on 2 February 2026.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Keir_Starmer
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Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC (/ˈkɪər ˈstɑːrmər/; born 2 September 1962) is a British Labour Party politician who is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since the 2024 general election. A former barrister, he was elected as Leader of the Labour Party in April 2020, becoming Leader of the Opposition. Previously, he was the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
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