Miserable Labour MPs stayed away from a Commons debate on the Lord Mandelson scandal today as Keir Starmer’s problems deepened.
The government benches were far sparser than those reserved for the Opposition as a three-hour ’emergency’ debate kicked off.
And there was no sign of Sir Keir himself, with the PM accused of ‘hiding’ as he remained in No10 despite mounting demands for him to provide detailed answers on the sacking of the US ambassador.
Less than 90 minutes into the debate Labour ran out of speakers wishing to take part, leaving it to opposition parties to criticise and ask questions about the appointment.
The premier finally broke cover yesterday to give his first account of what happened. He acknowledged that he knew officials were looking into fresh emails between Lord Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein when he voiced ‘confidence’ in the New Labour architect at PMQs last week.
However, he insisted he did not know the contents – and seemed to throw his aides under the bus by saying ‘in retrospect’ it would have been ‘better’ if the detailed allegations had been ‘put in front of’ him before the high-profile session.
The waters were furthered muddied this afternoon as a letter from the Foreign Office was published denying that it had played any part in the ‘due diligence’ on Lord Mandelson.
Kemi Badenoch called for Sir Keir Starmer to ‘publish the Mandelson-Epstein files in full’, as she accused the Prime Minister of ‘hiding from Parliament’.
The Conservative Party leader said: ‘It is extraordinary – extraordinary – that on the eve of the president’s state visit, we are talking about the US ambassador who’s been sacked in scandal.’
She also told the Commons: ‘The Prime Minister needs to do three things.
‘The Prime Minister needs to come clean about what he knew and when he knew it, not send his junior ministers to cover for him.
‘The Prime Minister needs to publish the Mandelson-Epstein files in full.
‘The Prime Minister needs to take responsibility for the appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.
‘But the Prime Minister is not here because he is hiding from Parliament, hiding from questions.’
Former PM Gordon Brown tried to shore up Sir Keir last night, insisting he faces ‘very difficult decisions’. ‘I think once the record is out, Keir Starmer will be completely exonerated,’ he told Sky News.
Sir Keir, who gathered his Cabinet this morning, will be hoping that Donald Trump can prove an unlikely saviour as the State Visit kicks off tonight.
The US president could draw attention from the rising Labour anger, with MPs openly warning that the leader will be ‘gone’ within months unless things improve.
A key No10 aide, Paul Ovenden, was forced to quit yesterday after historical WhatsApps emerged in which he recounted lewd jokes about Diane Abbott.
There were more grim signs today with a YouGov poll putting Reform nine points ahead, and Labour support at a low of 20 per cent. Separate More in Common research found Sir Keir’s personal rating has reached a new nadir of minus 46.
Worryingly for the leadership, criticism has been widening beyond the Downing Street operation to focus on the PM himself.
A despairing senior MP told the Daily Mail: ‘It is the decline of Rome. This is just the start. There are questions for (David) Lammy, but in the end this is about Keir not being able to do politics. He never could and he never will.’
One veteran Labour moderate said: ‘Keir is finished… he was a dud from day one.’
They added: ‘Keir can’t do politics. It was astonishing arrogance to think he can be PM without even liking politics…
‘It’s like being England manager and saying ”I don’t like football”.’
Despite the building frustration, it is unclear how Sir Keir would be removed barring him deciding to quit or an all-out Cabinet revolt.
The next general election is not due until 2029, and Labour’s massive majority in the Commons means that scores would have to join a no-confidence motion to trigger an early poll.
