Good morning. Keir Starmer tried to assuage public and political outrage about Lord Mandelson yesterday by saying that he would like to see him kicked out of the House of Lords for good, but that is not enough for the many people saying that the government should pass primary legislation to remove his peerage. One of them is Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, who told Radio 4 this morning a “very short bill” could be passed “today”. As Jessica Elgot and Emine Sinmaz report in our overnight story, it may turn out that Mandelson ultimately gets punished by the criminal justice system, because the police are reviewing the evidence to see if it justifies a full inquiry.

Davey is also calling for a public inquiry into Mandelson. Harriet Harman, the former Labour deputy leader, has been saying Mandelson should be kicked off the privy council. I’ll quote more from what they, and others, have been saying about ‘what to do about Mandelson’ shortly.

But the most interesting words about Mandelson around this morning come from the man himself. The Times has published a long interview with the peer and former ambassador conducted by Katy Balls. Balls is based in Washington, but she interviewed him at his home in Wiltshire early last week, for what looks like what was originally planned as a magazine feature. But then she also spoke to him on Sunday night, after the release of another 3m Jeffrey Epstein documents led to fresh revelations about his friendship with Mandelson and after the peer resigned from the Labour party as a consequence.

What is striking about the interview is lack of contrition.

In what seems to be a line from the main, pre-Sunday interview (which focused on the September Epstein revelations that led to his being sacked as ambassador to the US) Mandelson says:

Hiding under a rock would be a disproportionate response to a handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending. If it hadn’t been for the emails, I’d still be in Washington. Emails sent all those years ago didn’t change the relationship that I had with this monster.

But Balls also quotes him as saying:

I feel the same about the recent download of Epstein files, none of which indicate wrongdoing or misdemeanour on my part.

This quote seems to come from the Sunday chat, but the article is not clear on this point.

Balls also says that on Sunday, after announcing that he was resigning his Labour membership, Mandelson was still talking about making a future contribution to public life. He said:

I am a New Labour person and always will be, wherever the party situates itself. But I think I want a sea change. I want to be more of an outsider looking in rather than the other way round. I want to contribute ideas that enable Britain to strengthen and to work for all, in every part of the country.

Karin Smyth, the secondary care minister, was on the interview round for the government this morning, and she was asked about the Times article. She said Mandelson still did not seem to understand what he had done wrong. She told the Today programme:

Like, sadly, many other men I’ve seen in similar positions over the years, there is a lack of real reality and understanding about the depth of this now demonstrated in that interview.

I’m not entirely sure what day that interview took place, but each hour is bringing really shocking and quite astonishing levels of email correspondence that is shocking absolutely everybody.

The realisation has to dawn on him about what that means.

I will quote more from the Mandelson interview shortly.

Here is the agenda for the day.

Morning: Keir Starmer chairs cabinet.

11.30am: David Lammy, the justice secretary and deputy PM, takes justice questions in the Commons.

Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

After 12.30pm: MPs debate the universal credit (removal of two-child limit) bill.

2pm: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, and Lee Anderson, the Reform MP, hold a press conference. They are announcing a plan to save pubs.

Late afternoon: Peers debate the children’s wellbeing and schools bill, and are due to vote on an amendment to ban mobile phones from schools.

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