Mandelson should not have been US ambassador, says Sarwar

Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed as the UK’s ambassador to the US, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said.

Lord Mandelson, who was sacked from the post last year over his friendship to prolific paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, quit the House of Lords this week after information was released appearing to show he had shared internal government information about the response to the 2009 financial crash with Epstein.

The Metropolitan Police has announced a probe into alleged misconduct in public office as a result of the information.

Speaking at a press conference in Glasgow on Wednesday, Mr Sarwar said: “It’s quite clearly the case that Peter Mandelson should not have been the ambassador to the US.

“It’s right that he is not a member of the Labour Party and he should not sit in the House of Lords.

“I’ve heard the Prime Minister say that, had he known then what he knows now, he would not have appointed Peter Mandelson as the US ambassador – that was clearly a mistake.”

One of the key voices at Westminster calling for the expulsion of Lord Mandelson from the upper chamber was SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, who linked the relationship of the former peer with Epstein to that of Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy and former Number 10 adviser Matthew Doyle – who has since been given a peerage – with convicted paedophile Sean Morton.

Scottish Labour fired Ms Duncan-Glancy from its frontbench, with her also announcing she would not stand as a candidate in May’s election, but has so far resisted pressure to remove the party whip, while Baron Doyle was not stopped from taking his seat in the upper chamber.

But speaking at the press conference, Mr Sarwar hit out at Mr Flynn, raising the spectre of former SNP MP Patrick Grady – who was suspended from the Commons after being found to have acted inappropriately towards a member of staff.

“I would direct this directly at Stephen Flynn, but also other members of the SNP,” he said.

“He wants to shamefully use the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, who abused women, who clearly abused positions of power and relationships, to try and make comparisons with the situation with Pam Duncan-Glancy.

“It’s frankly disgusting and beneath them.

“But let’s contrast my actions to Stephen Flynn’s actions.

“Pam Duncan-Glancy is no longer a member of the shadow cabinet, she is not a candidate come the next election.

“They stood by and defended and protected someone who was found guilty by standards for sexual offences – Patrick Grady.

“If he wants to question my actions and my judgments, I think he needs to seriously question his own actions and his party’s judgments.”

Mr Flynn was not the party’s Westminster leader when Mr Grady was suspended from the Commons, but Mr Grady did return to the SNP after a six-month suspension under the Aberdeen South MP’s watch.

Responding, Mr Flynn said: “Anas Sarwar has shown appalling judgment over his close relationship with Peter Mandelson and Pam Duncan-Glancy.

“He embraced Mandelson and boasted that he was his ‘old friend’ despite knowing that he maintained contact with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, which has been a matter of public record for many years.

“He has failed to remove the whip from Duncan-Glancy despite knowing that she has held dinner parties, and maintains a close friendship, with twice-convicted paedophile and former Scottish Labour Party councillor Sean Morton.

“Anas Sarwar cannot pass the buck for his own inaction. He is as weak as his boss Keir Starmer, and voters will take a dim view of his excuses for why he thinks it’s ok for serving Scottish Labour Party MSPs to consort with convicted paedophiles and retain their party membership.”