Gordon Brown hands Met Police key information for probe into Mandelson | Politics | News
Gordon Brown has written to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley โwith information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelsonโs disclosure of market sensitive and confidential Government informationโ to Jeffrey Epstein.
The Labour peer was Business Secretary during Brownโs premiership when he appears to have leaked an economic briefing to Epstein, who was serving a jail sentence at the time for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Mr Brown told the Press Association: โI have today written to the Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley with information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelsonโs disclosure of market sensitive and confidential government information to the American financier, Jeffrey Epstein, an inexcusable and unpatriotic act at a time when the whole government and country were attempting to address the global financial crisis that was damaging so many livelihoods.โ
Lord Mandelson will quit the House of Lords from Wednesday following fury over his links to convicted pedophile Epstein.
He will keep his title as a peerage is bestowed for life, unless the Government changes the law.
The latest tranche of documents released by authorities in the US on Friday show Epstein was sent internal discussions from the top of the UK government in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash.
No 10ย revealed the Cabinet Office has referred material to the police after an initial review of documents released as part of the so-called Epstein files found they contained โlikely market sensitive informationโ and official handling safeguards had been โcompromisedโ.
The Prime Minister told his Cabinet on Tuesday that the alleged transmission of emails of highly sensitive government business was โdisgracefulโ amid accusations that the peer leaked information to the paedophile financier.
In a readout of Cabinet, the Prime Ministerโs official spokesman said Sir Keir opened the meeting by addressing โrecent developments relating to Peter Mandelsonโ.
โThe Prime Minister said he was appalled by the information that had emerged over the weekend in the Epstein files,โ he said.
โHe said the alleged passing-on of emails of highly sensitive Government business was disgraceful, adding that he was not reassured that the totality of information had yet emerged.
โThe Prime Minister told Cabinet that Peter Mandelson should no longer be a member of the House of Lords or use the title, and said he had asked the Cabinet Secretary to review all available information regarding Mandelsonโs contact with Jeffrey Epstein during his time serving as a government minister.
โHe said heโd made it clear the Government would co-operate with the police in any inquiries they carried out, but he said the Government had to press and go further, working at speed in the Lords, including legislatively if necessary.
โHe reiterated that there was a need to move at pace.
โThe Prime Minister said Peter Mandelson had let his country down.โ
