THE TORIES are to force a vote in the House of Commons today to make the Labour government publish more information related to Peter Mandelson, who announced yesterday that he is resigning from the House of Lords.
The Metropolitan Police are reviewing reports of misconduct in public office after emails show Mandelson forwarded internal government information to Jeffrey Epstein in the United States when he was business secretary in 2009.
Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, have agreed to testify in the congressional investigation into Epstein.
They only agreed days before a vote on whether to hold the couple in criminal contempt for refusing to appear before the House Oversight Committee after a months-long stand off.
Keir Starmer told a meeting of the cabinet yesterday that Mandelson had ‘let his country down’ and there is a need to ‘move at pace’.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and her team have an ‘opposition day’ today, which means they have the ability to determine parliamentary business.
They are planning to force a vote on the government to publish more information related to Mandelson.
While a final decision has not been taken on what exact information to request, this is likely to include vetting documents from the period leading up to Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US or other due diligence work conducted by the government in that period.
A vote would not necessarily be binding but could become very awkward for Labour MPs if the government tries to defeat the Conservative motion.
One senior Labour MP predicted that many would instinctively want to vote with the Conservatives.
On Monday night, the Metropolitan Police said they were reviewing reports of Mandelson’s alleged Misconduct in a Public Office.
This is an ancient offence which can lead to a life sentence. It is part of the ‘common law’ – meaning it’s evolved in court cases without Parliament debating and creating a precise definition.
Badenoch said it was ‘shocking’ that Mandelson was appointed as UK ambassador to the US last year by the Labour government.
He was sacked from that position last September when further details about his relationship with convicted sex offender Epstein were made public.