Swinney: Mandelson revelations have ‘pulled back curtain on broken Westminster’

The revelation of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein has “permanently pulled back the curtain on a broken Westminster system” the First Minister has said.

John Swinney made a renewed call for independence as he said “Westminster doesn’t work for the people of Scotland” as further information was revealed this week from Westminster.

The Prime Minister and his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, are under increasing pressure over the appointment and subsequent sacking of Lord Mandelson as US ambassador.

Sir Keir Starmer said this week he knew Lord Mandelson had a relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein before he was hired.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police said they were investigating the former peer over allegations of misconduct in public office, relating to files appearing to show him sharing government information with Epstein during the financial crash.

Mr Swinney said: “This week has permanently pulled back the curtain on a broken Westminster system – what people already felt and knew, is now in full view. The Mandelson scandal is only starting, and the Westminster establishment hasn’t even scratched the surface of the public’s anger.

“It is telling that the timeline of the Mandelson scandal tracks from the financial crisis to the current cost-of-living crisis.

“When people in Scotland and across the UK were losing their homes and their jobs – Peter Mandelson was seemingly leaking sensitive economic data to Jeffrey Epstein.

“It gets to the heart of the issue with the Westminster establishment – they are not in it for you, they are in it for themselves.

“Across all those years, when people were struggling, Mandelson was rewarded again and again by the Labour Party – first with a seat in the House of Lords and ultimately with a plum job in Washington as the UK’s Ambassador to the United States.”

Mr Swinney announced on Wednesday that Scotland’s top civil servant had launched an audit of the Scottish Government’s dealings with Lord Mandelson during his time as a minister in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and in his ambassadorial role.

He made a renewed call for independence which he said “offers an escape from a broken Westminster system”.

Mr Swinney said: “I have no doubt that his old friends in the Labour Party are genuine in their anger at Mandelson’s betrayal, but what they completely fail to see is that for the public this is part of a much bigger pattern – Westminster doesn’t work for the people of Scotland.

“People watching Westminster know that Britain is broken beyond repair – it cannot and it will not be fixed – it is locked in a cycle that only knows chaos and that will never deliver the change that is promised.

“For Scotland, an urgency must come with that understanding – a fresh start with independence offers an escape from a broken Westminster system.

“Talk has naturally centred this weekend on the Prime Minister’s future but whether Keir Starmer stays or goes – what will remain is the same broken Westminster system.

“The Mandelson scandal brings a clarity to the choice the Scottish people will face come May. We can either stay stuck to this broken Westminster system or we can build a future beyond Brexit Britain – we can choose a new Scotland through the fresh start of independence.”

The Labour Party has been approached for comment.