PMQs LIVE: Keir Starmer in first MPs showdown since Mandelson arrest
Keir Starmer will face MPs at 12pm for the first time since the dramatic arrest of former US ambassador Peter Mandelson.
The PM will be grilled by Kemi Badenoch and other MPs at Prime Minister’s Questions. It comes after Lord Mandelson was quizzed by police on Monday as part of a probe into allegations he passed sensitive information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein while he was Business Secretary.
Mr Starmer is facing questions about his judgement in appointing Lord Mandelson to the Washington job despite his friendship with Epstein.
The PM may also face questions about the Gorton and Denton by-election battle, where voters will head to the polls tomorrow, as well as major reforms on schools and the justice system set out this week.
Follow live updates below…
Commons Speaker admits he was told police of Mandelson flight risk
Lindsay Hoyle has admitted he told police Peter Mandelson was a flight risk and planning to flee to the British Virgin Islands.
The Commons Speaker said he passed information onto the Met Police in “good faith”, telling the chamber: “I would like to confirm that on receipt of information, that I felt it was relevant to pass this on to the Metropolitan Police in good faith as is my duty and responsibility.”
It comes after Lord Mandelson’s lawyers last night said he was arrested after “baseless” claims he was planning to flee the country. Lord Mandelson reportedly told friends since his arrest that it was a “complete fiction” that he was planning to escape to the British Virgin Islands.
Gorton and Denton by-election pressure ahead of vote
The Gorton and Denton by-election battle could be raised during PMQs.
Labour is battling to see off Reform and the Greens in a fraught contest in Gorton and Denton, Greater Manchester. Mr Starmer’s party won the seat with a 13,000-strong majority in 2024 but it is under intense pressure to hold onto it as it faces threats from the left and right.
Voters will head to polling booths tomorrow to decide the future of the seat.
Starmer to face MPs for first time since Mandelson arrest
Keir Starmer will face MPs at 12pm for the first time since the dramatic arrest of former US ambassador Peter Mandelson.
Lord Mandelson was quizzed by police on Monday as part of a probe into allegations he passed sensitive information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein while he was Business Secretary.
The Labour grandee lashed out at Scotland Yard yesterday through his lawyers, claiming the arrest was due to baseless claims he was planning to flee the country. Mr Starmer is facing questions about his judgement in appointing Lord Mandelson to the Washington job despite his friendship with Epstein.
