According to Keir Starmer, due process was followed before Mandelson was appointed. I seem to recall I defended the appointment, despite concerns about Mandelson’s integrity. I could see his dubious, Machiavellian personality being useful with the Trump Whitehouse. I was wrong because I’d forgotten the extent of his relationship with Epstein.
Mi6 will have known the extent of friendship, the continued contacts despite Epstein pleading guilty to procuring sex from 14 year old girls. It must have been obvious this alone would inevitably be used at some stage. Such an easy way to humiliate Starmer, to undermine his commitment to protecting the safety of women and girls