Sir Keir Starmer has said he would have "never appointed" Peter Mandelson if he knew then what he knows now.

It is the first time Sir Keir has spoken publicly since he sacked Lord Mandelson on Thursday night, when the pressure to get rid of him became too much after more emails between the Labour peer and Epstein were released.

They revealed Lord Mandelson, a minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, sent messages of support to the convicted paedophile financier even as he faced jail for sex offences in 2008.

Sir Keir is now facing further pressure over his leadership abilities due to his handling of Lord Mandelson's sacking.

The Times reported Downing Street and the Foreign Office were aware of the emails on Tuesday, the day before Sir Keir gave his ambassador to the US his back

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