What subsequent for Keir Starmer as Mandelson scandal explodes forward of showdown with MPs

Keir Starmer’s government has been plunged into crisis after it emerged Peter Mandelson was appointed despite failing security vetting – but the PM has insisted he did not know

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Keir Starmer is fighting for political survival after fresh revelations about Peter Mandelson’s appointment plunge the Government into crisis.

The PM voiced his fury after it emerged the controversial former peer had not been awarded security clearance by the UK Security Vetting (UKSV). Mandelson was nevertheless appointed as ambassador to the US after the Foreign Office overruled the decision in an extraordinary intervention.

Mr Starmer has insisted he is going nowhere despite a growing clamour from opposition parties for him to step down. In the coming days he faces a make-or-break showdown with MPs as he protests his innocence and points the finger of blame at Whitehall mandarins.

On Thursday evening the Foreign Office’s top official, Sir Olly Robbins, was dismissed. But he could get a chance to tell his side of the story as soon as next week after being invited to address the Foreign Affairs Committee in what could be an explosive session.

The next few days are filled with danger for the Prime Minister, with even some of his own backbenchers not convinced about his explanation. Here we look at some of the main points as No10 is again plunged into crisis mode.

OPINION

Lizzy Buchan

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Will Keir Starmer survive?

No10 strongly pushed back on calls for the PM to step aside, in spite of his opponents saying he should do so.

In a punchy on-camera exchange the furious Prime Minister pointed the finger of blame at the Foreign Office, saying it was “unacceptable” he was not told about Mandelson’s vetting failure.

The PM came out fighting, saying: “That I wasn’t told that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting when he was appointed is staggering. That I wasn’t told that he failed security vetting when I was telling Parliament that due process was being followed is unforgivable.

“Not only was I not told, no minister was told, and I’m absolutely furious about that. What I intend to do is to go to Parliament on Monday to set out all the relevant facts in true transparency, so Parliament has the full picture.”

He is pinning his hopes on blaming officials at the Foreign Office, and needs to convince his own MPs of his innocence. After months of rumblings about a leadership challenge, might this force someone to go over the top and challenge him?

Was it a Foreign Office cover-up then?

No10 has not batted away suggestions that its team was lied to, hours after Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins was sacked.

Downing Street has insisted that nobody in No10 was told that Mandelson had failed his security vetting despite repeated requests for “assurances”. Sir Olly was dismissed as the PM no longer had confidence in him, reporters were told today.

A No10 spokesman did not directly answer when asked if the Foreign Office had lied. But he said: “Nobody in Number 10, officials or otherwise, had this information (that Mandelson had failed the vetting process).”

He added: “The Foreign Office have run this vetting process, and at no point, at any point in any part of this process was anyone in Number 10, PM or otherwise, informed by the Foreign Office that the recommendation of UK Security Vetting was for him not to pass his developed vetting.

“Number 10 has, as you would expect, been repeatedly asking for assurances on the facts of this case, including the vetting, and at no point in that process was Number 10 told about security vetting recommending against his vetting.”

However former director of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre Ciaran Martin, an ally of Sir Olly, said ministers would not normally be told about vetting concerns. Attacking his friend’s sacking, Mr Martin told the BBC: “I don’t understand the basis of the dismissal, based on my knowledge of the vetting system and how it’s supposed to work.

“As far as I can tell, from what little we know, there is no abuse of process. There’s no failure of process there. Not only is there no duty to disclose the details of a vetting case, there is a duty not to disclose them.”

And he went on: “The one thing you do not do is go to the Prime Minister’s Office and start telling the details of probably the most personally intrusive process there is in the country.”

Did Keir Starmer mislead the House of Commons?

Mr Starmer’s allies insist he did not – but accepted that MPs need to be updated with the new information.

It comes as opponents call for a Boris Johnson Partygate-style probe to find out. In September last year the Prime Minister told the Commons that due process had been followed during the controversial political appointment.

Mr Starmer was unaware the Foreign Office had the authority to overrule vetting decisions, a Downing Street spokesman said. And no one in Downing Street was told it had happened.

But asked if the House of Commons was misled, the spokesman said: “The Prime Minister feels that he should update Parliament on Monday on the basis that Parliament should have known about this and should now know about this.

“And that is why, as soon as he was told on Tuesday evening, he commissioned this factfinding process with the explicit intention to update Parliament on this information that Parliament did not have.”

Mr Starmer’s chief secretary, Darren Jones, said: “The Prime Minister was very clear that due process was followed. The fact that due process involved the right for the Foreign Office to ignore the recommendation of the security vetting team is astonishing.”

What happens next?

There are all kinds of ways this could play out, and it’s a headache the PM could do without at a critical moment.

On Monday he will address the Commons and take questions on what happened. This will be crucial – he needs to convince MPs that he was blameless and that he and his team acted properly throughout.

This really will be a critical moment, as failure to win over the House – and particuarly his own MPs – could be catastrophic. To make matters worse, Sir Olly – who was sacked on Thursday evening – has been invited to address the Foreign Affairs Committee to give his side of the story.

That could set up a blockbuster crisis if his account differs from the No10 narrative. And then there’s the added possibility of further probes, with the Lib Dems calling on the PM’s ethics advisor, Sir Laurie Magnus, to investigate.

On top of that, the Lib Dems have also urged Parliament’s standards committee to look into whether the Commons was misled. This same committee showed no mercy to Boris Johnson over Partygate.

When did Mr Starmer find out?

The PM was informed on Tuesday evening that Mandelson had failed his vetting, No10 confirmed.

A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Starmer then ordered the Cabinet Secretary to establish the facts. It came to light after the Cabinet Office requested documents relating to the vetting, he said.

“Nobody in No10, officials or otherwise, had this information,” he said. “No10 has repeatedly throughout this process asked about the facts… and at no point was the Prime Minister told that UKSV had recommended against him.”

What about the Mandelson files?

You’ll remember that the Government has committed to release all documents related to the Mandelson appointment.

Documents will be released to the Intelligence and Security Committee, which is independent of government. This will take a view on which files can be released to the wider public, and which contain national security risks.

Mr Starmer has said he is confident that the files will vindicate him and his team. So far 147 pages have been released, with further documents expected in the coming weeks.

The scandal brought an end to Mr Starmer’s chief aide, Morgan McSweeney’s, time at the heart of government. Mr McSweeney quit at the start of last month, saying he took full responsibility for advising the Pm to appoint Mandelson.

It later emerged that messages from Mr McSweeney’s phone had been lost after the device was snatched in London last year.

What are Labour MPs saying?

It’s fair to say there’s a lot of anger within Labour ranks right now.

One former shadow minister texted in to say: “I guess there’s a point where having Keir Starmer as Labour leader starts to feel like having an embarrassing family member. You stop being surprised, you just absorb the shame and get on with it. The difference is that this particular embarrassing relative seems determined to burn the house down – with everyone still inside..”

Ouch. But that’s by no means the view of all MPs. Barry Gardiner said although he has agreed with the PM over policy, he does not think he’s acted improperly.

Mr Gardiner said: “I won’t try to manufacture a reason to get somebody out when they’ve acted in good faith. I do not think Keir Starmer lied to Parliament.”

Veteran MP Jon Trickett said: “It simply doesn’t sound credible for Keir Starmer to claim that he was unaware that Mandelson had been denied security clearance.

“If the PM did not know, it raises gravely serious issues about the way we are governed. Either way, the excuses coming from Downing Street won’t cut it on the doorstep in the run-up to the local elections.”