Starmer-Mandelson latest: PM ‘needs a miracle’ for leadership to survive Epstein scandal, says Labour MP
PM under increasing pressure from Labour MPs as leadership speculation intensifies amid widespread anger over scandal
The prime minister “needs a miracle” if he is to stay as leader as anger mounts over his handling of Peter Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, a Labour MP has said.
Ian Byrne, who sits on the left-wing of the party, said Sir Keir Starmer has “got to reflect on his position” as he comes under increasing pressure from within his party’s ranks to sack his chief of staff.
Mr Byrne told Sky News: "He needs a miracle. He needs something to turn it around.”
It comes after Baroness Harriet Harman also warned that the controversy would “finish him off”, unless the prime minister took the right course of action.
The Daily Mail reported that Sir Keir’s former deputy, Angela Rayner, who left government after underpaying stamp duty on a new property, had told friends she was “ready” to launch a leadership campaign. A spokesperson for Ms Rayner said: “We don’t recognise these claims.”
Sir Keir gave a speech on Thursday apologising to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims for believing Lord Mandelson’s “lies” about his relationship with the paedophile financier when the peer was appointed ambassador to the US last year.
.jpeg?quality=75&width=230&crop=3%3A2%2Csmart&auto=webp)
Nadia Whittome MP tables motion calling for a public inquiry into the links between Jeffrey Epstein and British public figures and institutions
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, has tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament which calls for an independent statutory inquiry into the British public figures and institutions with links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Supported by 33 other MPs from six different parties, the motion pays tribute to the courage of Epstein’s victims and notes that a number of British public figures are included in the Epstein files.
It states that the inquiry should scrutinise whether these figures or British institutions “had involvement in or awareness of his crimes, what action they took or failed to take, whether they assisted in covering up child sexual abuse, and if due diligence was undertaken in the case of any appointments to public roles.”
Ms Whittome said: “The Epstein files make it clear that Epstein kept a close relationship with a number of British public figures.
“His victims, and the public more widely, need to know the truth about the extent to which these public figures and British institutions may have been complicit in his crimes.
“That means that powerful people and institutions, including the Royal Family, must face scrutiny. My motion calls on the government to set up a public inquiry to examine these links and hold anyone responsible for wrongdoing to account.”
Editorial: If a miserable Starmer is to survive, he must show leadership
The PM is struggling to atone for his colossal misjudgement in appointing Peter Mandelson, but his bigger problem is that the country has simply stopped listening to him.
Read more here:
If a miserable Starmer is to survive, he must show leadership
Senior government figures forced to hand over private messages with Mandelson
Senior government figures will have to hand over their messages with Peter Mandelson ahead of the release of files related to the prime minister’s decision to appoint the former peer as US ambassador despite his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
The government is set to publish Mandelson’s vetting documents in the hopes transparency will help Sir Keir Starmer weather the political storm threatening his leadership, after he apologised to victims of Epstein for the appointment.
Athena Stavrou reports:
Senior government figures forced to hand over private messages with Mandelson
Labour needs a ‘complete reset’ in ‘moment of desperate need’, says former Scottish leader
The government is in need of a “complete reset”, the former Labour first minister of Scotland has said.
Lord McConnell, who led the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007, has said it’s time for Sir Keir Starmer to stop blaming advisers for mistakes and “step up”.
"To me there needs to be a complete reset here, not one of the half-hearted resets that we've seen,” he told Times Radio.
He called for Labour figures to “show us what you’ve got” in what he described as a “moment of desperate need” for the party.
“We need somebody now to step up and see that they can deliver that and they could most of all that they can provide hope for the people in the country."
Kemi Badenoch writes letter to PM demanding explanation for Mathew Doyle's peerage despite 'red flags during vetting'
Kemi Badenoch has written an open letter to the prime minister demanding to know why Matthew Doyle, the former No 10 director of communication, was “elevated to the House of Lords despite serious red flags during vetting”.
Referencing Lord Mandelson in the letter, she wrote: “This is not the only time you have appointed an individual to a prestigious position knowing of their continued relationship with a man charged with child sex crimes.”
Labour MP: Starmer ‘needs a miracle’
Our political correspondent Athena Stavrou reports:
A Labour MP has said Sir Keir Starmer “needs a miracle” if he is to stay as leader amid furore over his handling of Peter Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Ian Byrne, who sits on the left-wing of the party, said the prime minister has “got to reflect on his position. You know, he's an intelligent man.”
"And he needs a miracle. He needs something to turn it around,” he told Sky News.
He added that Starmer must look at the “consequences of his actions” and said he is “in a very perilous political situation at this moment”.
There will be 'soul-searching in Labour this weekend,' Labour MSP says
Labour MSP Monica Lennon - a leadership contender in 2021 - said just mentioning Lord Mandelson's name "makes my skin crawl", accusing him of abusing his position and public trust.
"It's not what anyone in the Labour Party wants to be talking about right now," she told BBC Radio Scotland.
"The good work the government is doing has been completely overshadowed by these scandals."
She added: "I think there will be a lot of soul-searching over the weekend.
"The prime minister clearly is distressed by the events and he is pointing fingers at Peter Mandelson, but there are questions for everyone at the top of government."
Ms Lennon called for "accountability", adding: "It can't just be someone steps down from a role, or there's an apology, there needs to be accountability.
"I think Parliament this week rose to the occasion and held the government to account.
"I think Angela Rayner's intervention was pretty powerful."
Pressure mounts on Starmer to dismiss chief of staff over Mandelson scandal
Labour MPs issued further calls on Friday for Sir Keir to dismiss his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, whom they blame for Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador despite the peer's links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Backbencher Simon Opher called for a "clear out at Number 10", telling the BBC's Today programme: "If my chief of staff had done this, I think he would be looking for another job."
Others calling for Mr McSweeney's departure include veteran MP Clive Efford and Southport's Patrick Hurley, who suggested another job should be found for him running the party's campaigns rather than the government.
Their comments follow an intervention by Labour's former deputy leader Baroness Harriet Harman, who said Sir Keir should consider "a real reset" in Downing Street and warned his premiership could be finished if he does not take the right course of action.
But other than a handful of backbenchers, most MPs have so far declined to call for the prime minister himself to go, stressing their support for Sir Keir while urging a change in backroom staff.
Shadow policing minister accuses PM of 'complete failure of judgement'
Conservative MP Matt Vickers has accused the prime minister of a “complete failure of judgement” in appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
Speaking to Times Radio this morning, he said: [The PM] knew that Mandelson continued to have a relationship with this chap after he was charged.”
He added: “This is one of the most evil, sick, depraved, vile people who ever walked the earth. The guy that Keir Starmer chose to appoint as ambassador- close friends with him. It’s a completely unacceptable situation.”
The shadow policing minister said: “He’s lost the confidence of his own MPs, he’s lost the confidence of the country. It’s time for Keir Starmer to go.”
Labour peer claims he was told to ‘shut up’ about Mandelson
Our political correspondent Athena Stavrou reports:
A Labour peer has claimed he was effectively told to “shut up” when he raised concerns about Peter Mandelson’s ties appointment as US ambassador.
Lord Glasman told Times Radio that he wrote a memo advising the government to steer away from appointing Mandelson, but was battered away by “virtually everybody”.
He said: “I wrote a memo - 'just do not appoint'. The phrase I used was: 'he was the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
“What I got [back] was, he'd negotiated the Good Friday Agreement, he did the Lisbon Treaty, there was the trade deal to do. That Mandelson was the best person to handle the complexity of the trade deal.”
He specified that it was not the prime minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney who told him to back down.
“He wasn't the person who came to me and said shut up,” he said.
“It was basically a non-entity. I received a message, you know, to just be quiet.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks