Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has told the BBC the situation facing Sir Keir Starmer is "serious" and suggested he may have been "too slow to do the right things" concerning Lord Mandelson.

He also defended him as "a man of integrity" who "wants to do the right things".

He spoke to the Today programme on Radio 4 in his first interview since the latest Epstein files seemed to show Lord Mandelson gave Epstein advance notice of a €500bn bailout by the EU to save the ailing Euro in 2010.

Another included a 2009 memo in which Brown's policy adviser Nick Butler wrote about the UK's struggling economy and recommended selling off government-held assets to raise public funds.

Brown said this was "market-sensitive" information as people can make money from changes in the values of currencies.

Lord Mandelson has not given the BBC an official statement but his position is that he has not acted in any way criminally and that he was not motivated by financial gain.

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Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenters were Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn with Kris Jalowiecki. The social producer was Beth Pritchard. The technical producer was Frank McWeeny. The weekend series producer is Chris Flynn. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.