That's it from the Politics Hub for today. 

Tonight, our political editor warns Sir Keir Starmer is in a precarious position - and that ministerial resignations can't be ruled out. 

Today has been dominated by the Tory motion to force the government to publish all documents relating to the vetting process that Peter Mandelson underwent to become US ambassador - and what Downing Street knew. 

Number 10 was forced into a climbdown by its own MPs, spearheaded by Angela Rayner and Dame Meg Hillier. 

You can see more on all of this by having a look at the key points above, or by scrolling down to see how it all unfolded.

Tomorrow, Starmer is hoping to reset the narrative by delivering a speech all about unity. The Tories have this is "absurdity".

We'll be back in the morning, with all the latest in the world of politics. But for now, goodbye.

 Thursday's newspapers are full of stories about Sir Keir Starmer's government, and how he has handled the Tories' motion demanding the publication of all documents relating to the vetting of Peter Mandelson. 

The PM was forced into a bit of a U-turn in the Commons this afternoon, having to swap out an exemption on national security grounds, for a promise to let parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) to decide whether to publish this material instead.

Our political editor Beth Rigby has said several ministers have texted her to say they are thinking about the idea of resigning.

Meanwhile, one backbencher has told our political reporter Ben Bloch: "It's terminal for the PM. The PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party] don't trust Keir any more."

Plus, our political correspondent Alex Rogers has heard from one minister: "Morgan [McSweeney - the PM's chief of staff] must go. It's the only slim chance Keir has at survival."

So, what have the papers made of his handling of this situation?

Sir Keir Starmer is going to use a speech tomorrow to call for unity and bang the drum for British values of tolerance and respect.

The prime minister's address tomorrow morning will seek to fight back against narratives that divide Britons, while championing community spirit. 

It comes as the government announces an additional £800m to support 40 new towns on Thursday, which will be used to improve high streets and sport centres, as well as invest in youth services.

Starmer will say: "I love this country. It is the greatest country in the world. I owe everything to this country and its values. I’ve spent most of my professional life serving them.

"We are bound by values, by common endeavour and by responsibilities we owe to one another as partners in the project of this great nation. 

"I believe in our way of doing things. That in a world that increasingly preys on weakness, I believe Britain is stronger as a tolerant, decent and respectful country."

Tories abandoned youth services and devastated communities

The PM will also hit out at the "scorched earth of Tory austerity", which he will accuse of leaving high streets and youth clubs "abandoned".

Starmer will also say politics in the UK is "no longer about left and right, but a contest between renewal and grievance".

"We've got to reverse the devastating decline in our communities," he will say. 

"We are rebuilding our public services, investing in community infrastructure, opening new nurseries, breakfast clubs, health centres right across the country."

Starmer will add: "This government chooses the path of unity because that is the only way we can change Britain - the only way we take control of our future, stand up to the world and walk forward, together.

"Communities – backed by the state, fired up by pride, taking responsibility for the renewal of this great nation."

Starmer's speech is 'absurd', say Tories

The PM's speech will come after a bruising day in the Commons. 

Wednesday saw Starmer hounded at PMQs for his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, while his effort to exempt some documents from being published on national security grounds largely evaporated following huge pressure from influential Labour MPs, such as Angela Rayner.

Responding to the PM's comments, a Conservative Party spokesperson said: "It's hard to overstate the absurdity of Keir Starmer making a speech about values and decency the day after he admitted appointing an ambassador who had remained friends with a convicted paedophile."

They have said the PM's "authority is shot" and that he "no longer speaks for the Labour Party, let alone the country".

The spokesperson added: "Only the Conservatives have a plan to sort out our country, and the team and experience to ensure we get Britain working again."

The calls for investigations into Peter Mandelson and his time in public office continue to grow.

This evening, Nigel Farage has called for an investigation into the Labour peer's time as EU trade commissioner, between 2004 and 2008.

The Reform UK leader has written to the European Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf), saying there were "potential fraud, corruption and ethics violations" committed by Lord Mandelson relating to his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

In his letter to the organisation's director-general, Petr Klement, Farage said that at the height of the Eurozone crisis in May 2010, Mandelson allegedly leaked the EU's €500bn bailout of Greece to Epstein, hours before it was publicly announced.

"It is unlikely that this was an isolated incident," he wrote. 

"Did this also happen during Lord Mandeslons's tenure as a Commissioner?"

The MP pointed to Mandelson since founding a lobbying firm, Global Counsel, and said commissioners have clear confidentiality and ethical obligations, and are supposed to behave with integrity even after they've left office.

The former MEP concluded: "Mandelson has potentially used his EU office for personal financial gain and/or has leaked information confidential to the Commission to a private individual in breach of his professional secrecy obligations.

"His conduct is arguably sufficiently egregious for him to forfeit his pension. 

"I believe that these allegations warrant an investigation by Olaf."

Mandelson has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing.

By my reckoning, this day will be remembered as perhaps the most difficult days of Sir Keir Starmer's premiership yet, with even close allies telling me they are not sure where it will end.

His admission in PMQs that he knew of the ongoing friendship between Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein hardened the sentiment of many a Labour MP who was willing to give the PM the benefit of the doubt and support the government's amendment on the Tories' humble address.

MPs were left furious at the PM and his aides for allowing Mandelson back into the heart of government given what they knew of him, with some MPs considering this an unforgivable lapse of judgement.

From there, the government whips had to re-draft their amendment to the Tories' humble address to ensure that it was the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) - and not Number 10 - that determined which of the Mandelson files should be released and which should be held back in the interests of national security and international relations. 

The government did manage to avoid a blow up over this.

But the fact that Downing Street had to cave to backbenchers concerned about a 'cover up' - led by Angela Rayner - is symbolic of the breakdown of trust.

There were rumours flying around that Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, was about to resign - as a few MPs publicly called for him to do so over the decision to reinsert Mandelson into government in 2025. 

Could we see ministerial resignations soon?

I'd describe the mood in parliament this evening as a "tinderbox", with even some of the PM's allies unsure about whether the situation is about to erupt.

When I asked one senior ally whether there could be resignations that could predicate a challenge, there was a long pause.

"Temperatures are running high", replied the figure eventually, acknowledging that when the mood is as it is, and Starmer is where he is in the polls, someone moving against him is a risk.

Another senior figure told me that many MPs felt deeply compromised over the scandal, including some ministers.

Watch: Labour MP says she's 'angry that we are here'

As for the Number 10 end, there is deep frustration this evening that the government has been blocked by the Metropolitan Police from releasing information about what Mandelson told the PM and others about this relationship with Epstein as he returned to government.

The intention had been to release this information straight away in order to back up what the PM said in the Commons, but as of this evening, Downing Street has been thwarted.

There is a view the release would have been helpful because it would have perhaps led MPs to direct their anger at Mandelson.

The PM's team are in a bind because they want the information out, but they don't want to do anything that would affect a criminal investigation with the Met. 

One option for Downing Street now could be to go back to the police and see what they can release.

But with their hands tied, and the mood this febrile, the prime minister is in a precarious position as the Mandelson crisis raises MPs' anger and leadership speculation all over again.

Kemi Badenoch has now responded, following MPs backing a motion that will compel the government to release documents relating to the vetting procedures Peter Mandeslon underwent. 

The leader of the Conservatives has declared victory - and insisted that the party is out for blood.

Badenoch said: "How could the prime minister have appointed him as our ambassador? 

"After all that, Labour tried to pull the wool over your eyes tonight. Conservatives forced Number 10 to come clean. 

"We won - despite the prime minister's best efforts."

The government originally scheduled an amendment to the motion, exempting some documents on national security and international relations grounds.

But after intense pressure from Labour MPs, the PM conceded - saying these documents could be passed to parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), who will then decide what to do with them.

Badenoch continued: "The government won't be marking its own homework, or hiding behind something as vague as international relations.

"Starmer wanted secrecy because secrecy is his shelter. The prime minister signed off this appointment. This was not an accident."

She also accused the PM of not having the strength to "say no" to his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, over the appointment - who the Tory leader called a "Mandelson protege".

"We are forcing the truth to come out and we will make the prime minister own every line of it. 

"Somebody needs to lose their job for this," she concluded.

Sir Keir Starmer's biographer has said the documents that will be published relating to Peter Mandelson's vetting must show that the PM "knew more than was already in the public domain" for it to be damaging to his premiership. 

Tom Baldwin told the Politics Hub that while Mandelson's ongoing connection to Jeffrey Epstein had featured in newspaper reports, this didn't stop the Labour peer from appearing on general election coverage and others calling his hiring as an ambassador a "masterstroke".

He added: "So I think for people to say this was a scandalous misjudgement, yeah, they have to show that Keir Starmer knew more than was already in the public domain at the time of the time, and presumably that's what the inquiry will find out."

The PM-ally also questioned whether "anybody seriously thinks" Starmer would appoint Mandelson now, knowing what we do today. 

"I do think it's difficult to question someone's judgement unless you know what facts they had at their disposal beforehand," he added.

Baldwin also insisted that the prime minister has "good judgement" and chose "what he thought was probably the best option at the time" from a shortlist of potential political appointees.

He said: "I think he has good judgement.

"I think I can say with greater certainty that he actually had a lot of misgivings about whether to appoint Peter Mandelson in the first place."

Asked by Matt Barbet why he was persuaded otherwise, he said: "Well, he's given a short list of names, which included George Osborne and another name, which I'm told were even more ridiculous. And he plumped for what he thought was probably the best option at the time."

Asked if he should have stuck with the previous ambassador, he said: "I think with hindsight we can all say that. All I would say is that there are a lot of people displaying a lot of hindsight right now who didn't say that at the time."

Christine Jardine has given her reaction to this afternoon's events in the Commons, from PMQs to the vote to release documents about Peter Mandelson's vetting.

Speaking to the Politics Hub, the Liberal Democrat MP said she's "never seen anything like it".

Jardine, who has been an MP for almost a decade, added: "I don't know where he [Sir Keir Starmer] goes from here to be honest."

She also warned that public trust in MPs is already low and that this has made it worst.

Watch her full reaction to this afternoon's events below...

Downing Street has said it will comply with the motion passed by MPs and that it will publish "documents relating to Peter Manelson's appointment".

Reacting to the vote in the Commons a short while ago, a Number 10 spokesperson said: "Peter Mandelson's actions were unforgivable.

"He lied to the prime minister, hid information that has since come to light and presented Jeffrey Epstein as someone he barely knew.

"We will comply with the motion, including publishing documents relating to Peter Mandelson's appointment, which will show the lies he told."

MPs passed a Conservative Party motion calling on the government to publish all documents relating to the appointment process of Mandelson as US ambassador last year. 

As part of that, MPs also backed a rewritten government amendment to the motion, saying documents deemed a risk to national security or international relations will be reviewed by parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC).

The PM previously hoped to exempt these documents altogether, but this position failed to hold after pressure from prominent Labour MPs.

No documents tonight, minister says...

Moments before the vote, Cabinet Office minister Chris Ward said that no documents would be published today after the Metropolitan Police - who are carrying out a criminal investigation into Mandelson - advised them not to.

But the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has reminded MPs that the police "cannot dictate" to the Commons.

 Sir Lindsay Hoyle has told MPs that the Metropolitan Police have "no jurisdiction on what this House may wish to do".

It follows Cabinet Office minister Chris Ward saying the government will not publish any documents relating to Peter Mandelson's vetting tonight "because of the conversation with the Metropolitan Police".

But for the Commons Speaker, that appears not to be a sufficient excuse.

He announced: "The Metropolitan Police have no jurisdiction on what this House may wish to do. 

"It will be whether the government provides or not. But just to let you know, they cannot dictate to this House.

"I'm going to leave it at that."

Paste BN has contacted the Met, but the force declined to comment further beyond their statement this evening - which you can see in full in our post at 6.04pm.

In that, the police "advised that the release of specific documents could undermine our current investigation" and "therefore asked them [the government] not to release certain documents at this time".

Ward insisted ministers want to release documents to the public "as quickly as possible".