"Labour Leadership on the Brink: Keir Starmer Faces PMQs Amid Peter Mandelson Vetting Row. Labour leader Keir Starmer is set to face intense scrutiny at Prime Minister's Questions today, as the party's leadership continues to be rocked by the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal. The controversy has sparked concerns among Labour MPs, with many now openly questioning Starmer's ability to lead the party. Meanwhile, former cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill has weighed in, calling for the reinstatement of Olly Robbins, who was sacked as Foreign Office permanent secretary after speaking out against the appointment of Mandelson. The situation has taken a dramatic turn, with Robbins' evidence to MPs revealing that he had made a professional judgment to mitigate concerns about Mandelson's past conduct, only to be subsequently sacked by Starmer. As the row continues to escalate, Starmer's leadership is facing unprecedented pressure, raising questions about his ability to navigate the complexities of Westminster politics. Will he be able to weather the storm, or will the Mandelson scandal mark the beginning of the end for his premiership?"
Former cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill has called for Robbins to be reinstated at the Foreign Office after his evidence to MPsGood morning. Keir Starmer faces PMQs today with the Peter Mandelson vetting row still dominating the Westminster agenda and – in the view of most observers familiar with the views of Labour MPs – the wagons of doom circling in, ever closer, on the Starmer premiership. In an ideal world, the fate of prime ministers would be decided by the big issues, not arcane scandals and personality spats. But we don’t live in the ideal world; we live in 21st century Britain, where everyone has social media on their phone. And even if you don’t care much about Mandelson, there is a link between how Starmer has handled this and wider government failures.Starmer’s position got worse yesterday as Olly Robbins, the person he sacked as Foreign Office permanent secretary, gave evidence to MPs. Here is our overnight story about it by Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey.The prime minister appointed Peter Mandelson against official advice, announced that appointment without security vetting having been completed and claims that he would have changed his mind had he been told that the vetting process had raised the concerns about Mandelson’s previous conduct of which he was already well aware.As Robbins explained yesterday, the question for him was not whether to tell the prime minister what he already knew, but whether those issues could be mitigated enough to allow Mandelson access to the secret intelligence necessary to do his job. He made the professional judgment that they could. Unwisely as it turned out, he shouldered his responsibilities rather than shunting them. Continue reading...
