Sky's deputy political editor Sam Coates has been across the Peter Mandelson story today.

But how did we get here? Sam talks through the story in this video.

Kemi Badenoch says the police launching an investigation into Peter Mandelson over allegations of misconduct in public office was "inevitable" and is "right".

The Conservative Party leader tells Paste BN: "We should not let this distract us from the fact the prime minister has his fingerprints all over this.

"He knew all of the allegations, concerns and reports about Peter Mandelson, knew that he was a close friend, an associate, of a convicted paedophile, and he still gave him the biggest job in the Foreign Office, at a time when UK-US relations are at a critical point.

"That's what he chose to do, and he's got a lot of questions to answer."

This is in reference to what was known about Mandelson's public relationship with Jeffrey Epstein at the time he was chosen (December 2024) and then appointed (February 2025).

The revelations that have come out in recent weeks are a result of documents published by the US Congress, and Downing Street has said it was not aware of these allegations until they were made public in recent days.

Badenoch continues: "I think it is a national embarrassment.

"There are many people who should have been given that job, who should have been interviewed for that job, and they didn't get a chance. That's not right."

Asked if the police should interview Sir Keir Starmer, she says the "police will make this call".

But she adds: "If there is evidence that shows that there's something to do with the prime minister, then yes, of course."

Reacting to the news that the police have launched an investigation, a government spokesperson said: "The government stands ready to provide whatever support and assistance the police need."

The Conservatives will use a motion to call on the government to publish all papers relating to Sir Keir Starmer's appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, Paste BN understands.

Senior Tory sources have said the party will attempt to do this, by using an opposition day motion on Lord Mandelson.

This will be in the form of a "humble address" - a parliamentary mechanism designed to allow the opposition, the Tories, to be able to call for papers from the government to be published. 

Mandelson was selected for the role by the PM in December 2024, and took up the position in February 2025.

But he was then sacked by the PM seven months later due to growing allegations about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Humble addresses are rarely used but are considered binding and therefore can be effective ways of forcing the government to publish information it would rather not disclose.

Peter Mandelson will face a criminal investigation into allegations that he leaked market sensitive information from Downing Street to Jeffrey Epstein, Paste BN understands.

It comes after emails appeared to show conversations between the pair about government and political matters while Lord Mandelson was serving as business secretary and the de-facto deputy prime in Gordon Brown's government.

Documents released by the US Department of Justice indicate Epstein was sent internal discussions from the heart of the UK government after the global financial crisis.

A number of opposition parties had called for a formal police inquiry.

Downing Street earlier said the Cabinet Office had referred how Mandelson handled sensitive government information while he was a minister to the Metropolitan Police.

Former prime minister Brown also said he had written to the force's commissioner, Mark Rowley, about Mandelson's contact with Epstein.

Mandelson has previously said: "I was wrong to believe Epstein following his conviction [in 2008 for procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute] and to continue my association with him afterwards. I apologise unequivocally for doing so to the women and girls who suffered."

In an interview with The Times carried out last week but published on Monday, Mandelson referred to a "handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending", and described Epstein as "muck that you can't get off your shoe".

Sir Keir Starmer made a "grave, grave error of judgement" when he appointed Lord Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US, Nigel Farage has said.

An initial review by the Cabinet Office of documents released by the US Department of Justice has found that emails sent by Lord Mandelson to the paedophile financier Epstein likely contain market sensitive information relating to the 2008 financial crash and official activities thereafter to stabilise the economy. 

At a news conference in Westminster this lunchtime, the Reform UK leader was asked about efforts to strip Peter Mandelson of his title as a lord - before the peer announced his resignation.

Farage replied that he is "fine" with doing this, but that it "absolutely is not the issue of the day", pointing instead to accusations Mandelson shared market sensitive information with Epstein.

Watch: Nigel Farage speaks on Mandelson

Farage suggested that if Mandelson did give Epstein advanced notice of the bailout, the paedophile could have made "hundreds of millions out of that trade". 

The MP, who previously sat as a member of the European Parliament, explained: "When those bailouts happened, there was a massive immediate market shift. I watched it, it was huge. 

"Anybody that had that information, that access to money and funds are the kind that Epstein did... Well, if he made tens of millions out of it, he was lax because there was a chance to make hundreds of millions out of that trade."

But he added: "There is no direct insider trading law for bonds in quite the same way that there is for stocks. And that's been the case since 1981, the Insider trading Act. 

"But it is highly sensitive market information.

"So fine, talk about removing the title. But that really is, I think, a very small part of something that is much bigger, much more serious. And I'm not even sure that we know the full story yet."

How many more warnings did Starmer need?

Farage also hit out at Sir Keir Starmer and his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, over Mandelson's appointment as UK ambassador to the US, following Mandelson's two previous sackings from government.

He said: "How many more warnings did the prime minister or, indeed, Morgan McSweeney need? They have made a grave, grave error of judgement despite repeated warnings."

He also stated that his name is mentioned 37 times in the Epstein files - but insisted he never met the disgraced financier, and he didn't go to Epstein island.

Mandelson, who served most recently as UK ambassador to the US between February and September 2025, has strongly denied all wrongdoing. 

In a previous statement, he said: "I was wrong to believe Epstein following his conviction and to continue my association with him afterwards. 

"I apologise unequivocally for doing so to the women and girls who suffered."

Sir Keir Starmer has "complete confidence" in his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister's official spokesperson has said.

As reported by our deputy political editor Sam Coates this morning, some Labour MPs are angry at McSweeney over his links to Peter Mandelson.

McSweeney reportedly pushed for the appointment of Lord Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US.

Lord Mandelson has been seen as somewhat of a mentor to McSweeney, and advised the now chief of staff when McSweeney was running Labour's general election campaign in 2024.

Lord Mandelson has attended fundraisers for McSweeney's wife Imogen Walker, who is a Labour MP.

But the latest questions over his judgement in advocating Lord Mandelson's appointment continue to add pressure to the embattled chief of staff, who is already under attack for a series of government U-turns.

He faced calls to be sacked in November, where a briefing war broke out suggesting Health Secretary Wes Streeting was plotting to topple Starmer.

Paste BN understands McSweeney denies being the source of the briefings.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats has repeated his call for a public inquiry into Peter Mandelson, following the former ambassador resigning his role in the House of Lords.

Earlier this morning, Sir Ed Davey told our lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge that an inquiry should be held to see the "impact on national security" alongside any potential criminal inquiries carried out.

Since then, Mandelson has stepped back from his role in parliament. 

But Davey has insisted that a national inquiry is still necessary. 

Watch his latest comments below...

A Conservative peer has said it would be "huge fun" if the government presses ahead with plans to use legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage. 

The former US ambassador has resigned his role in the House of Lords, but is unable to give up his peerage - this can only be done by an Act of Parliament. 

Paste BN understands that Downing Street intends to continue with plans to introduce legislation to do this, even though Mandelson has now resigned - completing half the job.

Reacting to this, Lord Moylan said: "This will allow a full debate in the House of Lords of all matters pertinent to Lord Mandelson, his history, his appointment, his friends and his finances. 

"Could go on for days. Huge fun."

He added: "[I] can't believe the government is seriously contemplating this."

His party leader, Kemi Badenoch, hit out at the "scandal, sleaze and speed" of Mandelson's downfall, saying it "only increases the scrutiny on Starmer and [Morgan] McSweeney", the PM's chief of staff.

Meanwhile, shadow housing secretary James Cleverly has hit out at the foreign secretary on social media, writing: "Making a political appointee an ambassador has to be signed off by the FS [foreign secretary], indeed the FS has to push this through.

"David Lammy would have had to push the Mandelson appointment hard. 

"Why did he ignore the warnings he would have received?"

Speaking to Paste BN a short while ago, another Conservative peer, Lord Robathan, said that using legislation to strip Mandelson of his peerage is "pretty pointless" as "nobody is going to address him as Lord Mandelson".

As we've been reporting, former prime minister Gordon Brown, has written to the Metropolitan Police about Peter Mandelson's contact with Jeffrey Epstein.

Brown made Mandelson his business secretary when he was PM back in the late noughties.

Here is his statement about his submission to the police in full:

"I have today written to the Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, with information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelson's disclosure of market sensitive and confidential government information to the American financier, Jeffrey Epstein, an inexcusable and unpatriotic act at a time when the whole government and country were attempting to address the global financial crisis that was damaging so many livelihoods.

"I have sent Sir Mark correspondence, exchanged between myself and the cabinet secretary last year, and I have also passed over information arising from it that may be important in his current investigation.

"I have included the letter I sent in September 2025 asking the cabinet secretary to investigate the veracity of information contained in the Epstein papers regarding the sale of assets arising from the banking collapse and communications about them between Lord Mandelson and Mr Epstein.

"I have also included the November [2025] response from the cabinet secretary, who said about this that 'no records of information or correspondence from Lord Mandelson's mailbox' could be found.

"Having drawn their attention to relevant evidence, the matter now rests in the hands of the police."