Starmer Has Dragged Labour ‘Into the Gutter’ Says John McDonnell Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has accused Keir Starmer of dragging the Labour party “into the gutter” in the wake of yesterday’s release of the Mandelson files. A tranche of documents disclosing the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador has revealed that the prime minister was warned of Mandelson’s “reputational risks” in 2024, before he chose the twice-fired Labour veteran to be sent to Washington. Responding to the 147-page dossier, McDonnell called for an independent inquiry into Labour Together, the think tank founded by Morgan McSweeney which advised Starmer’s leadership campaign. Labour Together is under scrutiny for failing to declare £730,000 in donations and paying private investigators to spy on journalists investigating its funding. On X, McDonnell said Starmer had allowed Labour “to be dragged into the gutter by Mandelson, McSweeney, Simons & Labour Together”. Mandelson’s close ties to Epstein were revealed when the US government released the Epstein files in January, ultimately prompting the resignation of McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff. The latest release of files confirms that Starmer had access to a 2019 report from JPMorgan stating that Epstein had maintained a “particularly close friendship” with both Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The files reveal that Jonathan Powell, Keir Starmer’s national security advisor, thought Mandelson’s appointment was “weirdly rushed”. Documents also show that Mandelson asked for a £500,000 severance payment after he was sacked in September over his “close relationship” with Epstein. The government eventually paid him £40,330. Mandelson is currently under police investigation over allegations that he shared sensitive market information with Epstein while in office. He previously apologised for his friendship with Epstein and “to the women and girls that suffered.” The government intends to release the rest of the Mandelson files in one further batch. *Sophia Sheera is a journalist in Novara Media’s social media team.* https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/12/starmer-has-dragged-la…