Mandelson-Epstein emails made me very uncomfortable, says Sarwar

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said emails between Lord Peter Mandelson and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein made him “very, very uncomfortable”, as he backed the peer’s sacking as US ambassador.

The Prime Minister requested Lord Mandelson’s removal on Thursday morning after the emails were leaked. They appear to show support for the man Lord Mandelson had previously described as his “best pal” when he was facing sex offence charges.

The Foreign Office said the emails show the depth of the relationship between the two men was “materially different from that known at the time of his appointment”.

Speaking to journalists in Holyrood, Mr Sarwar said the Prime Minister had made the right decision.

“The details that came to light were deeply, deeply concerning, they made me feel very uncomfortable,” he said.

“I think there’s legitimate questions that the public will want answers to and I think, ultimately, the Prime Minister has made the right decision.”

Asked if the decision suggests issues with the Prime Minister’s judgment, Mr Sarwar drew parallels with the previous Tory administration in the UK.

“If you compare it to the years under the Conservatives, it was dither, delay, not even referring to the Standards Commissioner, often defending the indefensible,” he said.

“(The Prime Minster has) actually taken swift action, there was swift action in terms of the resignation of (former deputy prime minister) Angela Rayner and the swift action in terms of the removal of Peter Mandelson as the ambassador to the US.”

First Minister John Swinney – who was staying at the ambassador’s residence in Washington when news broke that the Labour grandee had previously described the paedophile as his “best pal” – questioned the judgment of Lord Mandelson’s appointment.

He also spoke to journalists at Holyrood following First Minister’s Questions on Thursday.

“In light of the information that has come out, I’m not at all surprised by (Lord Mandelson’s sacking),” he said.

“The Prime Minister has obviously taken that decision, but the Prime Minister also took another decision, which was to appoint him in the first place.

“Maybe he should have looked a bit more carefully at this in exercising his judgment.”

Mr Swinney was accompanied by Lord Mandelson to a 50-minute meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office this week as the First Minister lobbied for Scotch whisky to be exempted from incoming US tariffs.