‘I labored in Keir Starmer’s No10 – that is the affect Mandelson scandal may have’
James Lyons, Former Downing Street Director of Strategic Communications, writes for The Mirror about the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal – and warns the crisis will continue to haunt the PM
A row has erupted after it emerged Peter Mandelson failed security vetting for his appointment as Britain’s Ambassador to the US(Image: James Manning/PA Wire)
Peter Mandelson once described his relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as like “dog muck you can’t get off your shoe”.
Mandelson has walked that dog muck right through Downing Street – and the stench is overpowering.
The peer was appointed HMA Washington, jewel in the crown of our diplomatic postings, despite being red flagged by the Vetting Service set up to safeguard national security. Accusations that the Prime Minister was lying when he said he did not know were comprehensively put to bed on Tuesday.
Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office chief forced out over the scandal, told MPs that he personally decided the risks posed – and we may never know what they were – could be managed.
Astonishingly, Robbins took the decision without seeing the vetting report. The mandarin seems to regard the contents as so secret he couldn’t even tell himself what was in it.
READ MORE: Mandelson scandal LIVE: Keir Starmer tells Cabinet Olly Robbins made ‘error of judgment’
Robbins did not speak up even when the PM was telling Parliament and the country that Mandelson had been cleared.
That vow of silence remained even when his boss, the then Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald, spoke to Robbins as part of a review after Mandelson’s sacking.
So Keir Starmer’s critics have been proved wrong in spades. But that does not mean the PM is out of the woods. Kemi Badenoch and others have asked why he ignored advice to vet any political candidates for the plum role before announcing their appointment.
I’d put money on the Tory leader raising that again at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. Expect Labour MPs to look queasy.
Ed Miliband has put clear red water between himself and the PM, saying he kept ‘well clear’ of Mandelson during his time as Labour leader. This is the worst possible backdrop for what was already set to be an appalling set of election results next month.
Labour face a rout in England, yet another term in Opposition at the Scottish parliament and being dumped out of power for the first time in the Welsh Senedd. Time was already running out to turn that around.
Now the latest twists in the Mandelson scandal have overshadowed good news about falling unemployment and plans to ban mobile phones in schools.
As well as burning up the oxygen of publicity, I know firsthand how grappling with these swirling crises soaks up energy and bandwidth in Number 10. Labour are on the backfoot when they can least afford it – and you can see it in their MPs’ eyes.
Worse, there is more to come. More documents to be published. An active police investigation underway. The Prince of Darkness will haunt Keir Starmer for a long time to come.
