Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership was plunged into further turmoil today, after telling MPs that official security vetting had flagged Lord Mandelson’s continued contact with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Ministers and backbenchers are now demanding the Prime Minister fire his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, over his decision to push for Mandelson to be appointed as the UK’s ambassador to the US.
It came after Starmer told MPs he was aware of the former Labour peer’s relationship with Epstein, even after he had been convicted for paedophilia and sex trafficking.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch asked: “Did the official security vetting he [Starmer] received mention Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein?”
Starmer replied: “Yes it did. As a result, various questions were put to him.”
Morgan McSweeney has come under fire for his role in Peter Mandelson’s selection as the UK’s ambassador to the US (Photo: Steve Back)The admission prompted some backbenchers to claim that it marked the “beginning of the end” of Starmer’s premiership.
Multiple Labour MPs told The i Paper “it is a matter of when not if” Starmer is deposed from power. “It feels terminal for Keir,” a Labour MP said.
A loyalist added: “For the first time since July 2024, I think the PM is in genuine danger.”
Sacking McSweeney would be ‘desperate’
Others, including ministers, said McSweeney would be held responsible for pushing for Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to Washington.
“I don’t see how Morgan survives now,” one minister said.
Another Labour MP added: “Morgan has to go but then there is no line of defence left for the PM.”
But some warned that sacking McSweeney would be a “desperate move” on Starmer’s part. “This is about his judgement,” another loyalist said.
MPs believed Starmer only averted a full blown rebellion in the Commons on Wednesday after Angela Rayner forced him into an embarrassing climbdown over the publication of Mandelson’s vetting files.
The Prime Minister had wanted Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald to decide what documents could not be released on national security grounds or because they could prejudice international relations.
But under pressure from Labour MPs, led by former deputy leader Rayner, he accepted the decision could be made by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) instead, a move which was later approved by MPs.
Rayner in the spotlight
Labour MPs, furious at Starmer, were pleased Rayner had taken the lead, although a colleague described the move as “an almighty flex” to show Starmer the support she enjoys in the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Another colleague interpreted the former deputy leader’s intervention as her “firing the starting gun on her leadership bid”.
Angela Rayner helped the government avoid a rebellion over the Mandelson files ( Photo: Leon Neal/Getty)Another Government source said that the party had moved “from glee to fury overnight,” after Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman had accidentally voted with Labour to lift the two-child benefit cap.
The Reform UK politicians were mistakenly “trapped” in the division lobby in a “genuine mistake” and were unable to leave because the doors had been locked.
“We ended yesterday happy, laughing at Suella and Jenrick, and today even a blind man on a horse can see that people are not happy. If I were Wes [Streeting] I’d move sooner not later,” the Government source said.
But despite the missteps, soft left MPs said that while there was a “lot of anger” within the party, “it doesn’t feel terminal”.
“Had he not U-turned, it would have been a lot worse,” one Labour source said.
No 10 vs The Met
Downing Street is now locked in a stand-off with the Metropolitan Police as to which documents can be made public amid police fears that it could prejudice their criminal investigation into Mandelson.
Commander Ella Marriott said the Met had asked the Government not to release certain documents “at this time”.
“Going forward as material is made available to us, and if we identify further documents that we believe could prejudice our investigation, we will continue to ask the Government to pause their release until such time as the risk of prejudice no longer exists,” she said.
It puts the Prime Minister in a difficult position as the documents could shed light on whether Mandelson was up front about his relationship with Epstein when questioned, but the police may not allow him to publish it.
A Downing Street source said: “Peter Mandelson’s actions were unforgivable. “He lied to the Prime Minister, hid information that has since come to light and presented Jeffrey Epstein as someone he barely knew. “We will comply with the motion, including publishing documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment, which will show the lies he told.”
Documents released as part of the US Department of Justice’s Epstein files appear to show Lord Mandelson passing potentially market-sensitive information to his friend in 2009, while he was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government.
A Conservative spokesman said: “Kemi forced Starmer to admit he’d known Mandelson was still hanging out with Epstein after the child sex conviction, and No 10 went ahead and appointed Mandelson anyway.
“You could feel in the Commons that was the moment Labour MPs stopped backing the Prime Minister. The Government have now had to cave to Kemi’s demand for all documents to go to the ISC. Starmer is no longer in control, Kemi is calling the shots.”
Lord Mandelson has not responded to the latest allegations. He has previously expressed regret about his links to Epstein.
Hence then, the article about beginning of the end starmer s leadership in crisis over mandelson was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( ‘Beginning of the end’: Starmer’s leadership in crisis over Mandelson )
Also on site :
- Europe’s cyber agency blames hacking gangs for massive data breach and leak
- The Trump Dictatorship Is Cracking Up
- Are Smartwatches Really Waterproof?