The prime minister is said to be furious — more angry with Lord Mandelson than with anyone in recent years. The mood among many Labour MPs has turned bleak. They feel repeatedly exposed by decisions that leave them defending indefensible positions, and the Mandelson episode is the latest example.
For many on the party benches, Wednesday was arguably Sir Keir Starmer’s toughest day in office so far. Colleagues are asking how sustainable it is for the government to be so often on the back foot. Plainly, the prime minister can ill afford further days like these.
Lord Mandelson has so far declined to make a public statement despite several chances to do so. Accounts of what happened diverge sharply. One camp is furious with Mandelson and disturbed by the collateral damage to Starmer. Some insiders insist the prime minister and his chief of staff acted in good faith and do not merit dismissal. Others argue the prime minister knew no more about Mandelson’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein than what was already in the public domain, a position ministers may adopt.
There are also voices who say even the publicly known facts should have ruled Mandelson out of the Washington role; in their view the appointment was a potential time bomb. Loyalists around Starmer are pressing for a strong public rebuke of Mandelson and are using every opportunity to reinforce that line. Downing Street has said Mandelson portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew, and there is hope that vetting disclosures will back that claim.
But I have also heard that vetting was rushed and slapdash. Some records may remain unpublished for a while because the Metropolitan Police are cautious about anything that could prejudice potential legal proceedings. Ministers felt compelled to speed up their responses to avoid appearing slow to act, and intervention from former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who called for cross‑party oversight of disclosures, left the government in a more uncomfortable position.
The episode exposes uneasy dynamics between the government and its backbenchers, which will not reassure those at the centre of power. Starmer will try to reclaim the agenda with a speech on his values and patriotism, but he knows the immediate questions will be over his judgment and the Mandelson affair.
Lord Mandelson maintains he did not act criminally, did not benefit personally, and will cooperate with the police.