Mandelson appointment: Lib Dems call for independent investigation with access to documents and messages

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an independent inquiry into what was known about ex-US Ambassador Peter Mandelson’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein at the time of his appointment, saying that victims must be “put first.”

The party’s Cabinet Office Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said an independent investigation is needed to uncover what was known, when and by whom regarding Mandelson’s connections to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The Liberal Democrats are also calling for relevant text messages, WhatsApps and emails to be handed to the inquiry for proper independent scrutiny of how the appointment was made.

It comes as Peter Kyle, the Business Secretary, claimed in an interview with Laura Kuennsberg this morning that “if we had known the information we know now, it is highly unlikely that [Mandelson] would have been appointed”, calling the new information “materially different” from the content reviewed during vetting.

Sarah Olney, Cabinet Office Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, said:

“The Government has serious questions to answer about what they knew when. The current explanations just don’t add up.

“Number Ten must put the victims of Jeffrey Epstein first, not their own reputation. We need an urgent, independent inquiry into how details of Mandelson’s ties with a convicted paedophile slipped through the cracks of Government vetting

“This inquiry must be given access to all the relevant messages, texts and documents so it can get to the bottom of this appalling mess.”

ENDS