‘I requested Keir Starmer has he executed a take care of the satan over Trump’
Keir Starmer hoped to hammer home a message on cohesion when he visited a sports centre in Hastings. But instead he faced questions about the Peter Mandelson saga
Keir Starmer was angry and frustrated as he faced question after question about Peter Mandelson(Image: Peter Nicholls/PA Wire)
It feels a long time since Keir Starmer strode up the streets of Downing Street celebrating a landslide election victory.
During the 2024 campaign, when I was part of the press pack following him around the country, he seemed to relish the back-and-forth with journalists. But fast forward to February 2026 and things have taken an ugly turn.
As questions swirl about the appointment of Peter Mandelson and backbenchers openly question whether he should stay in post, he must have felt like a seal walking into a room of polar bears. It feels incredible that 18 months after winning a huge majority, a Prime Minister would be facing serious questions about whether he should step down. But here we are.
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Mr Starmer was at a sports centre in Hastings to deliver a speech on cohesion, investment and – crucially, with a by-election just weeks away – to have a dig at Reform. But despite his best efforts, the decision to appoint the so-called Prince of Darkness will make or break his leadership.
I’ve covered a lot of speeches by Mr Starmer over recent years, and this was the most visibly angry I’ve seen him. At one stage from the back of the room it appeared the usually-calm PM was shaking in anger as he let rip about Mandelson.
After Wednesday’s attack on him at PMQs, Mr Starmer knows his future depends on distancing himself from the peer, who stepped down this week amid growing anger. But there’s no getting around the fact that his links to Epstein were no secret, even before he was appointed – and that brings questions about the PM’s judgement.
Did he do a deal with the devil, I asked him, by appointing an ambassador despite knowing the dangers. Donald Trump was also implicated by association with Epstein, so maybe he felt there could be some advantage. That part of my question wasn’t addressed.
But crucially there was an apology to Epstein’s victims – for believing Mandelson’s lies. While the PM maintained he was in the dark all along, it is a tough sell for his critics.
“It has been publicly known for some time that Mandelson knew Epstein, but none of us knew the depth of the darkness of that relationship,” Mr Starmer said.
A car alarm blared in the background as he gave arguably the most difficult speech since becoming Prime Minister so far. The question is whether he’s gone far enough, with talk of confidence votes (albeit from the Lib Dems) and Labour MPs breaking ranks in worrying numbers.
Even with polls looking more difficult and a string of mis-steps in the last 18 months, his speech felt unusually tense. There’s a growing feeling that the Mandelson scandal risks becoming a tipping point – meaning the stakes are higher than they’ve been since Labour came back to power.
Has the PM done enough? “I think he’s deluded or in denial and probably both” one MP tells me. “He has presided over the rotten culture Peter Mandelson was at the heart of since coming to power.
“When it worked for him the risk was acceptable. Now it hasn’t he’s pleading ignorance to the kind of man Mandelson is.”
Another says: “He’s maybe bought himself some time, but he cannot understand how frustrated and angry the PLP are.”
