UK to disclose explosive documents on former ambassador

The UK government will publish new documents related to the case of former UK ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson, who has been accused of links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The disclosure is expected to increase pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Bloomberg reports.

The agency reports that, following a parliamentary decision, the government will be required to release hundreds of private exchanges between Mandelson and cabinet ministers.

Preliminary estimates suggest the documents amount to more than 1,000 pages. The correspondence is expected to be politically sensitive and may include criticism of the prime minister.

The publication of the materials, it is noted, could further heighten political risks for Starmer and raise new questions about the vetting process involving Mandelson, despite prior concerns raised by security services.

Starmer sacked Mandelson after documents published in the US laid bare the depth of his friendship with the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Since then, questions over the appointment have led to the departure of Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and the top official at the Foreign Office, Olly Robbins.

The papers being published this week will go into further detail about the security assessments undertaken before Mandelson’s appointment, as well as his contacts with senior government ministers.

Some documents are being withheld because they could be used by the Metropolitan police in a future prosecution, while the government has redacted others for security and data privacy reasons.

By Vafa Guliyeva