Sir Keir Starmer has escaped imminent danger of being toppled over the Peter Mandelson scandal, his allies now believe.
Labour MPs who have already decided that the Prime Minister must be forced out are still considering a challenge to him after next week’s local elections, which are expected to bring heavy losses for the party.
But Starmer’s supporters have expressed relief after the conclusion of a final round of parliamentary hearings investigating the appointment of Mandelson as British Ambassador to the US failed to unearth conclusive evidence that the Prime Minister had lied or broken the rules.
Morgan McSweeney, who was Starmer’s closest aide until he quit over Mandelson this year, admitted it was a mistake to send the controversial New Labour veteran to Washington but insisted that the vetting process had not been overridden.
And a vote in the House of Commons on whether the Prime Minister should face a formal probe into whether has misled Parliament over the issue was set to fail on Tuesday evening. However, as many as two dozen Labour MPs, mostly on the left of the party, were expected to support the motion or abstain in a challenge to Starmer’s authority.
Mood in the PLP ‘sort of resigned’
An MP on the left of the party described the mood as “sort of resigned”, adding: “It’s a bit of a mess but I don’t think Keir lied to Parliament.”
McSweeney, who is widely credited with masterminding Labour’s general election victory and then served as the No 10 chief of staff, told the Commons foreign affairs committee that he had advised Starmer to appoint Mandelson as ambassador ahead of the other leading candidate, ex-Chancellor George Osborne.
He admitted: “I know what I did wrong. I know the judgement calls that I made that were wrong. I’ll live with them for rest of my life.” But he rejected claims that ministers and their advisers had sought to bypass Mandelson’s security vetting, saying: “We never asked people to skip steps at any part of the process.”
Discovering that Mandelson had repeatedly lied about his close ties to billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was “like a knife through my soul”, McSweeney told the MPs.
Earlier Sir Philip Barton, who was the Foreign Office’s top civil servant at the time the appointment was made, insisted the vetting formalities had been carried out properly even though it did not happen until after Mandelson had been announced as the new Ambassador. He told the committee: “I’m very confident they were taken, albeit under pressure, properly.”
Frustration with PM’s ‘poor judgement’ remains
Many Labour MPs continue to express public and private irritation with what they see as Starmer’s poor judgement in appointing such a divisive figure to the key Washington role, and rushing through the security clearance.
But only a small number of diehard opponents of the Prime Minister are currently committed to trying to push him out, with most willing to wait at least until the aftermath of the local elections.
One ally of Starmer and McSweeney said the party leader had ridden out the latest Mandelson row, and may now finally be able to move on from the furore over his appointment. “I’m not sure what more there is to answer on it”, the ally said. They claimed Tuesday’s committee hearings were “a reminder that the real villain of the piece – Mandelson – isn’t there, making it all a waste of time and effort”. An MP who backs the Prime Minister insisted that “he has come out of the last 48 hours stronger”.
The i Paper understands No 10 believes its position has been largely vindicated by Tuesday’s hearings, with McSweeney backing Starmer’s account and Barton agreeing with the PM that while there was pressure applied over the timing of Mandelson’s vetting, it did not extend to the substantive question of whether clearance should be granted.
Starmer to give speech focusing on Middle East fallout
Starmer is expected to give a speech as soon as next week looking at the the challenges the country faces off the back of the conflict in the Middle East, in a bid to prove to MPs and voters that he is focussed on tackling Britain’s biggest issues. The speech is expected to take the theme of “security” – on energy, the economy and national security.
He will also use the King’s Speech – coming a few days after the local elections – to push the argument that Labour is pressing ahead with delivering on its election manifesto promises.
The Prime Minister told Cabinet on Tuesday morning that “the King’s Speech would be an opportunity to build towards a stronger Britain, looking forward with hope and opportunity”, a No 10 spokesman said.
However, the Mandelson scandal could reignite around the same time, owing to the likely publication of all remaining documents relating to the vetting process, as required by a vote of Parliament forced on the Government earlier this year.
The intelligence and security committee, which is vetting the dossier, has now informed ministers of which documents it believes should be published and with what redactions for security or privacy reasons. It will liaise with the Government on the final details as soon as Parliament returns following the elections and will push for publication as soon as possible after that.
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