Starmer’s faith in Mandelson was a catastrophic error of judgement
If Keir Starmer had hoped that his own indignation, doubtless sincerely felt, would put distance between Downing Street and the Peter Mandelson scandal, he was mistaken.
Amid dramatic and at times chaotic scenes in the House of Commons yesterday, the Prime Minister was forced into a humiliating u-turn as opposition and Labour MPs united to strike down his preferred method of releasing government documents that will shine a light on just how thoroughly Mandelson was vetted by Starmer’s government before being appointed as our ambassador to Washington.
It’s really not that long ago that Starmer and Mandelson hosted a bash at the plush British ambassador’s residence in Washington, laughing and slapping each other on the back. The judgment, or lack of it, that led up to that night is now a matter of intense debate and it’s no exaggeration to say that the next few days could seal the PM’s fate.
Starmer admitted in the Commons yesterday that he was aware Mandelson had carried on his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after the child prostitution conviction, but had been unaware as to the extent of that relationship. Without wishing to make light of the situation, it’s fair to note that one Tory MP yesterday suggested the Cabinet Office ought to provide guidance on what exactly constitutes an acceptable level of friendship with a convicted paedophile, just so we’re all clear.
Why did Starmer believe Mandelson’s lies?
Starmer insists he was lied to repeatedly by Mandelson, and that is undoubtedly true, but why did he take the risk? Why didn’t he ask the Americans whether Mandelson appeared in the Epstein emails? Why did he believe Mandelson’s lies?
These questions also apply to Downing Street chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, something of a Mandelson protégé. Not for the first time Westminster was awash with speculation last night that McSweeney may have to go, but the PM – hardly flavour of the month with Labour MPs – would be severely wounded if he did. Labour MPs, who would rather be talking about anything else in the middle of a crucial by-election campaign, are furious and many of them want a scalp.
Whatever emerges over the next few days, it’s clear that Starmer’s appointment of Mandelson to the UK’s top diplomatic job was a monumental error of judgment and a mistake for which he may now pay a very high price.