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MPs have backed the release of documents relating to Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador. The move comes after Sir Keir Starmer made a climbdown on his original plans for the top civil servant to decide which papers could not be shared on national security grounds or because they could prejudice international relations.

The embattled Prime Minister accepted that the decision could instead be made by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) in the face of a revolt by Labour MPs including Angela Rayner. The Tories have led the parliamentary push for documents to be disclosed after fresh revelations about Lord Mandelson's association with billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged.

Behind-the-scenes negotiations took place in the Commons to reach a compromise to avoid a Labour rebellion.

A Conservative spokesman said: "Kemi forced Starmer to admit he'd known Mandelson was still hanging out with Epstein after the child sex conviction, and No 10 went ahead and appointed Mandelson anyway.

"You could feel in the Commons that was the moment Labour MPs stopped backing the Prime Minister. The Government have now had to cave to Kemi's demand for all documents to go to the ISC. Starmer is no longer in control, Kemi is calling the shots."

Sir Keir earlier told the Commons he knew about Lord Mandelson's ongoing friendship with Epstein when he appointed him to the plum Washington role.

But he said the peer "lied repeatedly" about the extent of the relationship.

Lord Mandelson, a political appointment rather than a career diplomat, was sacked from his US position in September last year over his links with Epstein, who died in 2019.

His continued association with the financier following a 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor had been widely reported before his return to the political front line, when he was named as ambassador in 2024.

But documents released as part of the US Department of Justice's Epstein Files raised new concerns in recent days.