Keir Starmer could face sleaze inquiry over Mandelson scandal
Opposition parties are urging the Speaker of the Commons to refer Sir Keir Starmer to an official parliamentary sleaze inquiry amid claims he misled MPs over the Lord Mandelson scandal.
The prime minister is facing mounting criticism from cabinet ministers and MPs over his handling of the crisis before critical elections across the country in two weeks’ time.
On Wednesday the first Labour MP publicly called for Starmer to quit over the vetting scandal, saying none of his colleagues “reasonably expects” the prime minister to last until the next general election.
At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, and David Lammy, the justice secretary, all raised concerns about how Downing Street had responded to the scandal.
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The Times understands that, in an attempt to ratchet up the pressure on Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, is pressing for his referral to the privileges committee, the body that ended Boris Johnson’s career in British politics after it found he had lied in the Commons over the lockdown parties scandal.
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She believes there is evidence that the prime minister misled the Commons when he said that “due process” had been followed in the appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the United States in 2024. In fact, Simon Case, the cabinet secretary at the time and now Lord Case, told Starmer to complete security vetting before announcing his appointment — advice that the prime minister chose not to take.
She is also highlighting Starmer’s claim at prime minister’s questions that “no pressure existed whatsoever in this case”. Sir Olly Robbins, who Starmer sacked as the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary last week, said that “constant pressure” was applied.
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Badenoch is being backed by the leaders of the Liberal Democrats and the SNP, who are also privately urging Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, to act. A Conservative spokesman said that “all options were on the table” to hold Starmer to account in parliament.
However, opposition parties said that Hoyle was “cautious” and wanted to ensure tacit support from some Labour MPs. Any motion to refer Starmer to the privileges committee for investigation would be subject to a vote of all MPs.
Starmer’s claims could be further undermined by Sir Philip Barton, Robbins’s predecessor who opposed Mandelson’s appointment, who has been asked to give evidence to the foreign affairs select committee.
Dame Emily Thornberry, a Labour MP and chair of the committee, highlighted claims this week that Morgan McSweeney, when he was the prime minister’s chief of staff, told Barton to “just f***ing approve it [Mandelson’s appointment]”.
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McSweeney is understood to deny swearing at Barton but is said to have raised concerns about the delay in announcing a departure date for Dame Karen Pierce, the outgoing ambassador to the US. He will give evidence to MPs on Tuesday.
The prime minister has denied misleading the Commons, which is considered a resigning offence under the ministerial code. He said that Sir Chris Wormald, who succeeded Case as cabinet secretary, had made clear that it was “normal” for vetting to take place after appointments had been made when candidates were external.
On Tuesday cabinet ministers raised concerns about the impact of Starmer’s decision to sack Robbins on relations with the civil service. Lammy warned that it risked creating a “them and us mentality”, while Mahmood questioned the consistency of Starmer’s messaging.
She highlighted the fact that Starmer sacked Robbins after accusing him of failing to inform him that Mandelson had failed his security clearance, but went on to praise him as an “outstanding civil servant”. The Guardian reported that Wes Streeting, the health secretary, and Reeves emphasised the importance of keeping civil servants “on side”. Starmer said that he agreed.
On Wednesday Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, repeatedly refused to say if he thought Robbins had been treated “fairly”. Yvette Cooper and Ed Miliband have also distanced themselves from Starmer over the scandal.
Jonathan Brash, the Labour MP for Hartlepool, became the first to publicly call for Starmer to resign over the Mandelson scandal. He said it was a case of “when, not if” Starmer goes. “I am completely fed up to the back teeth with the psychodrama in Westminster, the own goals that are coming from the heart of this government,” he said.
Cat Little, the permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office, is expected on Thursday to use an appearance before the foreign affairs select committee to accuse the Foreign Office of frustrating attempts to secure information about Mandelson’s vetting.
Little is expected to say that she was forced to obtain the vetting report, which included a clear recommendation against appointing Mandelson, directly from UK Security Vetting, a body in the Cabinet Office. She is also likely to raise concerns about the lack of minutes or documentary evidence surrounding the ultimate decision by Robbins to allow Mandelson to take the role with appropriate mitigations in place to manage the risk.
At prime minister’s questions, Starmer categorically rejected Robbins’s assertion that No 10 had pressured the Foreign Office to wave through Mandelson’s appointment.
“Sir Olly was absolutely clear that nobody put pressure on him to make this appointment, whatever the sequence of developed vetting,” he said. “No pressure existed whatsoever in this case.”
Badenoch accused Starmer of misrepresenting Robbins’s evidence and said that while parliamentary rules prevented her from accusing the prime minister of “deliberately misleading the House”, she added: “Everyone can see what has happened here. This was not due process. Everyone knows the price of misleading the House. Will the prime minister finally take responsibility and go?”
Highlighting Robbins’s comments at the committee, Badenoch said after prime minister’s questions: “Starmer was therefore wrong to say that ‘no pressure existed whatsoever’. He must correct the record immediately.”