'Police raid Mandelson homes' and 'Breaking the ice'
BBC
The search by police officers at two properties linked to Peter Mandelson features prominently in Saturday's papers. The Metropolitan Police is investigating the ex-Labour minister after suggestions he passed on market-sensitive government information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Daily Telegraph leads with the story alongside a photo of plain-clothes officers entering a garage at his Wiltshire home. Lord Mandelson has not been arrested or commented publicly on the allegations, but the BBC understands his position is that he has not acted in any way criminally and that he was not motivated by financial gain.
The Daily Mail characterises these latest developments as a "toxic fallout" from the release of the Epstein files, alongside a picture of police knocking on the door of Lord Mandelson's "£12m London home. The paper says detectives with body-worn cameras began "sifting through belongings" of the former ambassador to the US and removed "boxes of evidence".
"Police rummage through Mandy's drawers" is the Sun's take, running the same picture of police arriving at Lord Mandelson's London home.
The i paper's weekend edition reports that senior government officials are preparing to hand over their communications with Lord Mandelson to Parliament's security committee, adding that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is "set to dig in" and "brace for public backlash".
The Independent says the scandal has "piled pressure" on the PM to release all vetting documents related to Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to Washington.
The Times says former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has told friends that she warned the PM not to appoint Lord Mandelson as ambassador due to his links with Epstein. The paper says Rayner told Sir Keir privately that appointing Mandelson would be a "mistake" because of the public evidence of his close relationship with the late sex offender.
The Financial Times carries a warning from Sir Keir's allies in Labour that any attempt to oust him over his handling of the Mandelson scandal would "wreak havoc on the economy".
The Guardian reports that a Labour minister was given intelligence files gathered on journalists who were investigating the Labour Together think tank that helped propel the prime minister to power. Elsewhere, rapper Snoop Dogg is seen "breaking the ice" at the Olympic curling rink as the Milan-Cortina Winter Games get under way.
The Daily Express shifts its focus to the rise in the TV licence fee for millions, quoting MPs who have called it a "death wish" for the BBC. Green Party MP Sian Berry warns the increase to £180 a year will "hurt" already struggling households, the paper says.
A woman who escaped serial killer Steve Wright says her warning to police was ignored in 1999 after she gave them a description and his car registration, the Daily Mirror reports. Emily Doherty said: "I was ignored. For 25 years I've thought what if?" On Friday, Wright was sentenced to 40 years for the kidnap and murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall, and the attempted kidnap of Doherty. Wright is already serving a whole life term for the murder of five women in 2006.
Finally, the Daily Star provides a dreary weather update - rain has fallen somewhere in the UK every day since the start of 2026. "Things can only get wetter," is the paper's forecast.
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