Lord Mandelson must resign immediately over his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein or Sir Keir Starmer must fire him, Harriet Harman has told Sky News.

It emerged this week that Lord Mandelson, who has said he wishes he had never met Epstein, had written him a 2003 birthday note in which he described him as his “best pal”.

According to reports in Bloomberg and The Sun, he also sent Epstein messages of support while the American was being investigated for sex offences, telling him he was “following you closely and here whenever you need”.

Politics Hub: Follow the latest from Westminster

There were also claims that Epstein had brokered a deal with Lord Mandelson over the £1bn sale of a UK taxpayer-owned banking business in 2010. This was reportedly negotiated while Lord Mandelson was the business secretary, and only months after Epstein had been released from prison in 2009.

Speaking on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harman said Lord Mandelson should resign because it would be the “decent and honourable thing” to do.

However, “it looks clear he’s not going to do that” and so the decision lands on Sir Keir’s desk, the Labour peer said.

More from Politics

“Is he going to keep him on even in the face of what we all now know? Or is he going to say you can’t represent Britain and therefore you’re going to have to be fired?

“I think that’s what Sir Keir Starmer should do.”

Lord Mandelson and No 10 have both been contacted for comment on the allegations.

You can listen to the full episode of Electoral Dysfunction later on Thursday.