Mandelson had ‘real expertise’ to ‘deliver’ US trade deal, says Business Secretary

BUSINESS Secretary Peter Kyle said Peter Mandelson had “real expertise” that was needed for the role of US ambassador and that a Cabinet Office vetting unit had approved his appointment.

Kyle told the Camilla Tominey Show on GB News: “What was received on Tuesday was excerpts of emails for which they needed clarity. The Foreign Office received excerpts of emails, they were put to Peter Mandelson.

“At the time of PMQs, the Prime Minister had not seen the full emails. He had not seen the response from Peter Mandelson. They came later on in the day, on Wednesday, but as soon as that evening, when he had the full emails and the full context and he could make a decision.

“Having seen it, the first thought from the Prime Minister, as it was with me and many others, is that this was Jeffrey Epstein. He was a criminal, and there are victims out there, and we have to put the victims first…”

Asked about a vetting document that had reportedly raised concerns about Mandelson, Kyle said: “What you saw was a vetting process, which is a standard vetting process, which is independently run by a unit in the Cabinet Office that reported to the Prime Minister, and it cleared Peter for appointment.

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“The information that you’re mentioning was public information. We knew that the association between Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein went beyond the conviction that was known.

“These facts were available in the public, but what we saw from the emails in their full was of a materially different context than what we had known at the point of appointment.

“If we had known that, then we would not have appointed him to this job.”

He added: “We did not have the full files until Wednesday, the cache of emails. We’re talking about a 24-hour period here. We had snippets and excerpts. We tried to get to the bottom of it. The Foreign Office put this to Peter.

“On Tuesday, we were waiting for the response. The full response came, and we also had access to the full emails. On Wednesday after PMQs. I’ve said it again and again and again, but it was Wednesday evening that we had access to the full cache of information. And then within hours, Peter had been recalled as an ambassador.

“To go back to the point, we knew, because there was publicly available information, it was available to the public that the association had gone on longer. What was not known is the full extent of the relationship, and then also the context that was revealed in those emails. At the point of knowing that, we acted, the Prime Minister acted.”

On why Mandelson was considered the best person for the role of US ambassador, he said: “You have to understand that back in the period where Peter was appointed as ambassador, the global trading system had been upended. Relationships between America and Britain and other countries were being upended by a very unconventional approach to diplomacy…

“We faced a fundamentally challenging period, and we needed to get in there some real expertise that we felt was needed at that moment in time.

“But look what we’ve delivered since then, the first trade deal with America, the best trade deal with America. We have delivered.”

He added: “This is an administration that puts the national interest first. We know that this is a difficult situation.

“If we’d known then what we know now, we would not have appointed Peter Mandelson. But at every stage we have strived to do what is in the best interests of Britain in difficult circumstances.”