The Metropolitan Police has released a statement saying it will review a number of reports it has received relating to alleged misconduct in a public office.

Commander of the Met Police, Ella Marriott, says: "We are aware of the further release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice.

"Following this release and subsequent media reporting, the Met has received a number of reports relating to alleged misconduct in a public office. The reports will all be reviewed to determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation.

"As with any matter, if new and relevant information is brought to our attention we will assess it, and investigate as appropriate."

Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

A handful of Labour MPs have criticised the government’s handling of the row over Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, according to private messages seen by BBC News.

Earlier today, Number 10 officials posted in a WhatsApp group for Labour MPs, outlining the government’s position.

They said: “It’s right that Peter Mandelson has resigned from the Labour party and had he not done so, the party was actively looking at what action could be taken.”

One Labour MP replied: “That line on Peter Mandelson is no way strong enough.”

Another said: “Agree. Surely had he not resigned the party would have suspended him pending expulsion given the seriousness of conduct.”

Image source, House of Commons

In the House of Commons, a number of MPs from different parties called for a criminal investigation into Peter Mandelson. It's after emails released from the so-called Epstein files suggested that he forwarded internal government information to Epstein.

Since then, both the SNP and Reform UK confirmed they have reported Mandelson to the Metropolitan Police.

In the Commons, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, said Mandelson's behaviour "falls far below the standards expected of any minister" - but said criminal investigations are a matter for prosecution services and the police.

Here's what else we heard:

• Jones said allegations about financial transactions between Mandelson and Epstein when Mandelson was in public office were "not known by the government" before Friday's release, and said these would be investigated by the country's most senior civil servant
• He called on MPs to help "modernise" the disciplinary procedure in the House of Lords so those who bring it "into disrepute" can be removed
• Conservative Alex Burghart said it was a "great embarrassment" to the UK that its most senior ambassador was "caught up" with a man like disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, and called for an investigation into Mandelson's work as ambassador to the US
• The SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn criticised Labour for not immediately putting forward legislation to strip Mandelson of his peerage, and said he doesn't understand why the prime minister has not said Mandelson should be subject to a criminal investigation
• And Reform UK's Robert Jenrick said it was "always a grotesque error of judgement" to appoint Mandelson in the first place, and called on the government to bring forward legislation to "deal with this now". Jones pointed out that the Conservatives, of which Jenrick was a member at the time, did not object to Mandelson's appointment

As a reminder, Mandelson has been approached for comment about allegations of criminal misconduct and claims he leaked government information. He has previously said he has no record or recollection of receiving money from Epstein, saying he believes the claim to be false and needs "investigating by me".

Speaking just now in the Commons, Reform UK's Robert Jenrick says appointing Mandelson as US ambassador was "always a grotesque error of judgement".

He says it is a "total disgrace" to discover that Mandelson "leaked confidential information to a convicted sex offender" as a cabinet minister and "took tens of thousands of pounds in secret backhanders".

Jenrick condemns Jones's response, asking if he will bring forward legislation to "deal with this now".

He also asks why Jones has not said he will "go proactively to the police" and "demand an investigation" when Mandelson has "clearly broken the law" and is now "accused of serious misconduct in a public office and should be tried for his offences".

In response, Jones says the government will cooperate with any investigation that takes place, and stands ready to introduce legislation to update procedures in the House of Lords.

He also says that the Conservative Party - which Jenrick was a member of at the time - did not object to Mandelson as US ambassador when he was appointed.

Mandelson has been approached for comment about allegations that he leaked government information. Mandelson has said he has no record or recollection of receiving money from Epstein, saying he believes the claim to be false and needs "investigating by me".

The SNP and Reform UK have reported Peter Mandelson to the Metropolitan Police.

It comes after emails released in the Epstein files suggest that Mandelson forwarded internal government information to Epstein when he was then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown's business secretary.

The Leader of the SNP in Westminster - Stephen Flynn - said in a letter to the Met Police commissioner: "If such allegations are investigated and proven, it is gravely serious – for Peter Mandelson, for the Labour Prime Ministers who appointed him and for the UK government as a whole. That is why I believe it is now clearly in the public interest that all of these newly released emails and files, and Mandelson’s entire period in UK Labour Governments, must now be criminally investigated."

The SNP leader continued in the letter, saying "grounds for such a criminal investigation are already well established in law. In the Attorney General's Reference No 3 of 2003 [2004] EWCA Crim 868 the court said that the misconduct must amount to: '… an affront to the standing of the public office held. The threshold is a high one requiring conduct so far below acceptable standards as to amount to an abuse of the public's trust in the office holder'."

Speaking to the BBC, Flynn says: "What we've seen is an email exchange - or multiple email exchanges - of information which appears to be market sensitive that was shared with, the former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown being shared by Lord Mandelson with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Now that's a profoundly serious matter it's something which yes the government should be investigating through the Cabinet Office, but I firmly believe the police should be looking at this too as a matter of potential criminality."

Reform UK have confirmed to the BBC they have reported Mandelson.

The BBC has approached Mandelson for comment. He has previously raised questions about the authenticity of some of the documents that were recently disclosed by the US justice department.

The SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn criticises Labour for not immediately putting forward legislation to strip Mandelson of his peerage.

He says he doesn't understand why the prime minister has not said Mandelson should be subject to a criminal investigation.

Darren Jones replies that the government has "acted accordingly" as soon as information about Mandelson's relationship with Epstein has been released by the US Department of Justice.

Labour MP Emily Thornberry asks whether "police should be involved" following recent revelations in the Epstein files.

She tells MPs that Mandelson "sent on market sensitive information to Epstein" and told him "about matters of national security".

"Surely this is not a matter of whether Peter Mandelson should be in the House of Lords, this is a matter of whether the police should be involved".

Jones tells the Commons that the actions were "wholly unconscionable" and says that criminal investigations are a matter for prosecution services and the police.

Image source, House of Commons

Continuing his response to Burghart, Jones says the cabinet secretary did in fact respond to Gordon Brown's call for an investigation in September.

"That investigation was undertaken," he says, and Brown was told in a reply that it found "no documents in relation to those questions were held by the government".

In light of new documents being release, further investigations are taking place, Jones says.

Burghart says Jones has a "duty" to tell the Commons what the prime minister knew about Mandelson's "continued" relationship with Epstein, and what documents he had seen prior to Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the US.

"If he didn't know, someone must have done," he says. "Who was it?... It is time that someone took responsibility."

Jones replies that the person that has to take responsibility for their failings is Mandelson.

He says the prime minister has stated that the declarations of interest put before him by Mandelson were "not wholly truthful" and that he "moved swiftly" to remove him as ambassador when he discovered the extent of his relationship with Epstein.

Image source, House of Commons

We now hear a response from Conservative frontbencher Alex Burghart, who says it is a "great embarrassment" to the UK that its most senior ambassador was "caught up" with a man like disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

He says it is "clearer than ever" from the US Department of Justice's latest release that theirs was a relationship built not just on affection, but on the transfer of money and information.

"In some cases this was apparently market sensitive information," Burghart adds.

As a result, Burghart welcomes the investigation into Mandelson's links with Epstein, but says it should have happened long ago - after former prime minister Gordon Brown wrote to the cabinet secretary last September.

In addition, Burghart says there should be an investigation into Mandelson's position as ambassador to the US, saying it is "entirely conceivable" he abused his role.

In appointing Mandelson, Burghart suggests, there was either a failure of the vetting system, or the government chose to brush information away.

For context: Mandelson was sacked as the UK's ambassador to the US in September after information emerged about his friendship with Epstein.

Jones continues by saying that the cabinet secretary - the most senior civil servant in the government - has been asked to review information and report back to the PM.

He tells MPs that Mandelson is no longer a Labour member and disciplinary action was under way prior to his resignation.

"The prime minister believes, as does the government, that Peter Mandelson should not retain his membership of the House of Lords or use his title," Jones says.

He tells the Commons that the government cannot remove peerages without legislation, and calls on parties including the Conservatives to "work with the government to modernise the disciplinary procedures to allow for the removal of peers who have brought the House of Lords into disrepute".

Within the latest Epstein files release were documents which "highlighted the close nature of the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson," Jones says.

This includes alleged financial transactions when Mandelson was a Labour MP and later minister, Jones says.

He says this information was "not known by the government" before the release on Friday.

The nature of the documents raise "serious concerns about Peter Mandelson's behaviour whilst a minister", Jones says.

"Peter Mandelson must account for his actions and conduct," he adds.

Jones says Mandelson's decision to continue a relationship with a convicted paedophile and discuss government business with him "falls far below the standards expected of any minister".

No government minister should ever behave in this way, he says.

Peter Mandelson has been approached for comment.

Jones starts by saying Epstein was a "despicable criminal who committed disgusting crimes" and "destroyed the lives of countless women and girls".

Epstein's victims must be the first priority, he says.

As Starmer has said, anybody with relevant information must come forward and co-operate with investigations, Jones adds.

He says the latest batch of documents released by the US Department of Justice makes it "increasingly clear" that Epstein's crimes "involved and were facilitated by many often powerful people, both by actively participating in those crimes, but also by failing to hear those victims' voices".

Image source, UK Parliament

Senior cabinet minister Darren Jones has begun his statement to the Commons on the release of the latest Epstein files by the US Department of Justice on Friday.

We will bring you the main lines here and you can follow along by pressing watch live at the top of this page.

Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent

Emails released by the US government suggest that Lord Mandelson gave Epstein advance notice of a €500bn bailout from the EU to save the Euro.

In the early hours of 10 May 2010 EU finance ministers agreed the deal amid concerns that a debt crisis in the Greek economy could spread to the wider Eurozone.

The evening before the announcement, Epstein emailed Mandelson to say: "sources tell me 500 b euro bailout , almost complete".

The released documents indicate that Mandelson, who was business secretary and de facto deputy prime minister, replied: "Sd be announced tonight."

Epstein then asked if Mandelson was home and received a reply, saying: "Just leaving No10..will call ".

The UK did not contribute to the bailout, but the then-chancellor Alistair Darling was present in Brussels for the negotiations.

Lord Mandelson has been approached for comment.

Image source, Reuters

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been pictured riding near the Royal Lodge on the estate surrounding Windsor Castle this morning.

It follows a number of mentions of Andrew and what appears to be more of his correspondence with Epstein in the latest US Department of Justice Epstein files release - which our royal correspondent says show Epstein relying on his royal connections.

Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and being named or pictured in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing.

Image source, Reuters

Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter

I’ve been looking at another lengthy message in the files from "Sarah" dated April 2011.

The previous month, Sarah Ferguson told the Evening Standard, external she would never have anything to do with Epstein again, saying: "I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children."

It has already been reported that Ferguson tried to distance herself from the Standard interview, apparently sending an email to Epstein where she called him a “supreme friend”.

The files released by the US Department of Justice on Friday include a long email from "Sarah" to Epstein on 27 April 2011.

"I know you also feel hellaciously let down by me, from what you were =ither told or read, and I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for =hat.

"You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my =amily. As you know I did absolutely not say the P. Word about you. But =nderstand it was reported that I did."

The email continues: "I was advised in no uncertain =erms to having nothing to do with you, and not to speak or email you, and if I =id, I would cause more problems to both You and The Duke and myself.

"So I shut =own and ran away. I was broken and lost. So please understand, as I do about =ou, that I ws broken and not the strong person you know, and I got =ompletely obliterated too, and I saw all my childrens work etc disappearing.. I =hut down and everyone out. I was frightened. The Palace system is frightening."

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has called for a police investigation into Lord Mandelson.

Leader of the SNP in the House of Commons, Stephen Flynn, asked the prime minister whether he agrees that "Peter Mandelson should be subject to a police investigation for potential criminality while in public office?"

Starmer - who was addressing the Commons to give an update on his recent trips to China and Japan - did not directly answer the question.

The BBC has approached Mandelson for comment.

As we've been reporting, files released by the US Department of Justice suggest Mandelson forwarded internal government information to Jeffrey Epstein while serving in Brown's cabinet.

Catherine MacLeod former special adviser to then-Chancellor Alistair Darling says reports of the leaked emails are "absolutely shocking", and a "sign of terrible weakness".

"At any level if you're leaking confidential conversations it's a betrayal. And that's certainly a betrayal, whoever leaked it," she says.

"I was in the room when a lot of confidential conversations were taking place, and it is inconceivable that any of us would have left that room and shared them with anybody else," she adds.

MacLeod is now a Labour peer, and she says it would be "surprising" if Mandelson returned to his seat in the House of Lords, but adds "who knows" as the Lords works in "pretty mysterious ways" and the system "probably needs reform".

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

Starmer believes Mandelson "should not be a member of the House of Lords or use the title", Downing Street said earlier.

There is more than one way to remove someone from the House of Lords, says Meg Russell, professor of politics at University College London, and director of the university's constitution unit.

One way is "the person removes themselves and they could take retirement", and another is for the Lords to vote them out.

"Peter Mandelson is already on leave of absence. He could choose to permanently retire," Russell says.

If a person chooses not to retire, but members of the Lords think they should go, then "they could be removed for breaching the Lords Code of Conduct. A 2015 statute potentially allows the Lords to do that," Russell says.

In theory, if the Lords judge that someone has broken the Code of Conduct, then there could be a motion to remove them and a vote of the House.

A third, which would also remove the title of Lord, is very rare and involves a new act of Parliament, she says.

"Removing the title is a much more difficult process as the title has been bestowed by the Crown," Russell says.

To take away a peerage, "you need legislation to do that", Russell says.