The prime minister is furious — more furious with Lord Mandelson than at anyone in years, I’m told. The mood among many Labour MPs is darkening. They feel repeatedly placed on the wrong end of indefensible positions; the Mandelson row is the latest example.
Wednesday was arguably Sir Keir Starmer’s most difficult day in office so far. Many on his side are privately asking how sustainable it is for the government to remain so often on the back foot. Bluntly, he can ill afford more days like these.
Lord Mandelson has offered no public comment, despite repeated opportunities. Accounts of events split two ways. Some are livid with Mandelson and at the collateral damage to the prime minister. One insider argues Starmer and his chief of staff acted in good faith and do not deserve to lose their jobs over this. Another insists the prime minister knew no more about Mandelson’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein at the time of the appointment than was publicly known — a line ministers may adopt.
Others say that even what was publicly known should have ruled out sending Mandelson to Washington; in their view the appointment was a time bomb. Loyalists to the prime minister are trying to bury Mandelson under a mountainous public rebuke and are seizing every chance to double down. Downing Street says Mandelson “presented Jeffrey Epstein as someone he barely knew,” and there is hope the vetting disclosure will substantiate that.
But I also hear vetting was “rushed” and “slapdash.” Much material may remain unpublished for some time because the Metropolitan Police are wary about anything that could prejudice potential legal proceedings. Ministers have accelerated responses for fear of appearing to dawdle, and intervention from former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner — urging cross-party oversight of disclosures — forced the government into a less comfortable position.
That episode reveals uneasy power dynamics between the government and its backbenchers, hardly reassuring for those at the centre of government. Starmer will try again to seize the agenda — he will give a speech about his values and patriotism — but he knows most questions afterwards will be about his judgment and Mandelson.
Lord Mandelson insists he did not act criminally, did not act for personal gain, and will cooperate with the police.
