Rival parties call for Starmer to face confidence vote over Mandelson scandal as PM vows to carry on in No 10

Thanks for following our live coverage today as Keir Starmer fights to save his premiership amid growing anger over the Peter Mandelson scandal.

The Prime Minister apologised to victims of Jeffrey Epstein for appointing him US ambassador with his judgment increasingly coming under scrutiny.

We’ve followed the developments today and the reaction from political rivals as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats called for Starmer to receive a confidence vote.

Here are some of the stories we have covered earlier:

Thanks for following our live coverage today as Keir Starmer fights to save his premiership amid growing anger over the Peter Mandelson scandal.

The Prime Minister apologised to victims of Jeffrey Epstein for appointing him US ambassador with his judgment increasingly coming under scrutiny.

We’ve followed the developments today and the reaction from political rivals as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats called for Starmer to receive a confidence vote.

Here are some of the stories we have covered earlier:

by Greg Heffer

Critics have questioned how Sir Keir Starmer believed Lord Mandelson’s claim he ‘barely knew’ Jeffrey Epstein after years of reporting about the pair’s relationship.

In an attempt to defend his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the US last year, the Prime Minister hit out at the peer’s ‘lies’.

At the beginning of a speech in Hastings this morning, Sir Keir directly addressed the scandal that has thrown his premiership into a fresh crisis.

But questions were raised about the PM’s suggestion he had ‘no reason’ other than to take Lord Mandelson’s answers about Epstein at face value before appointing him.

It was pointed out how photographs of Lord Mandelson and Epstein together had been published years ago, amid widespread reporting about the pair’s links.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the Prime Minister’s apology as ‘very weak’ and ‘not quite believable’

He said:

There was a lot of stuff that was known about the depth of that relationship. And the Prime Minister trying to pretend all the way through he doesn’t really know Peter Mandelson, he didn’t really understand what relationship was. So it’s a very weak, late apology, not believable and not helping his position one little bit.

Farage, on the campaign trail in the Gorton and Denton by-election, added:

One thing I have to say, is that a Prime Minister can get things rights, a Prime Minister get things wrong. A Prime Minister has to have good judgment, and appointing Peter Mandelson – given what he knew – was terrible judgment.

Another Labour backbencher has said Keir Starmer is ‘fighting for his political life’ and says the next few weeks will be key to determining his future.

Ian Byrne, the MP for Liverpool West Derby, told Times Radio:

I think the Prime Minister is a man of honour and I think potentially he’ll reflect on his position once we get the full details, once that information’s released and that decision is taken.

And we’ll have to watch over the next couple of weeks. Obviously we’ve got a key by-election coming up, we’ve got May elections. He’s fighting for his political life at the moment. I think the next couple of weeks are going to be instructive about how we move forward. It’s sad we’re here.

by Mark Duell, Deputy Chief Reporter

King Charles has been heckled and questioned by a reporter about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation during a royal visit to an Essex village this afternoon.

A journalist asked the monarch during his trip to Dedham whether the Royal Family would cooperate with the ongoing probe into the late paedophile financier.

She shouted the question as allegations continue to be revealed each day over the relationship between Epstein and the King’s brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

As Charles arrived for his visit in the pouring rain, ITV’s Cari Davies was heard shouting: ‘Your Majesty, will your family help with the Epstein investigation?’

The King did not respond and turned away, while another woman said: ‘Oh, shut up.’ But the journalist added: ‘Do you have a message for the victims. Your Majesty?’

by Greg Heffer

Peter Mandelson is claimed to have ‘masterminded’ Sir Keir Starmer’s reshuffle just days before he was sacked as Britain’s ambassador to the US.

In fresh revelations about the extent of his influence on Labour, the disgraced peer is reported to advised Downing Street on the Government shake-up.

Mandelson is also said to have been directly involved in helping Sir Keir’s top aide select parliamentary candidates ahead of the 2024 general election.

On 5 September last year, the Prime Minister carried out the first major reshuffle of his premiership following the resignation of Angela Rayner over a tax row.

It saw a number of ‘soft-left’ MPs sidelined in favour of those seen as allies of Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s chief of staff who is viewed as a ‘mentee’ of Mandelson.

Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, has said Peter Mandelson ‘should never been considered’ for the US ambassador role.

Sarwar – who described Lord Mandelson as an ‘old friend’ when he was given the posting to Washington DC – said the former UK Government minister was ‘a shame to our nation’

Sarwar said:

Peter Mandelson should never even have been considered to be the ambassador the US, he never should have been the ambassador to the US

It’s right he’s not a member of the Labour Party and he should be stripped of all his titles, and it is right he is now investigated by the police.

Pressed on whether the Prime Minister – who is coming under increasing pressure over the issue – can stay in his post until the Holyrood election in May, Mr Sarwar insisted: ‘Yes’.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said he is ‘shocked’ following revelations regarding Peter Mandelson, including claims he sent market-sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein whilst a Cabinet minister.

Speaking as the Bank left benchmark borrowing costs at 3.75 per cent in its first rate-setting decision of the year, Mr Bailey said:

I am shocked by what we are hearing. A year ago I had to give evidence in a legal case around this issue – it was my duty.

I was having to push back on the lies we were being told consistently. I am shocked by what we heard at that time about the financial crisis period. We have to remember that the most important thing is the victims in all of this.

Labour pressure group Mainstream has called for a ‘total overhaul of personnel’ in Downing Street amid the fallout from the Peter Mandelson scandal.

The group’s interim council, which includes MP Alex Sobel, said his appointment was ‘the direct result of a corrosive political culture that must be torn out by its roots’.

They added:

A failure of this magnitude does not happen by accident. It requires a system that elevates factional loyalty over integrity, that values connections over character and that treats rigorous vetting as an inconvenience.

Everyone who participated in this process – from those who championed the appointment, to those who turned a blind eye, to those who silenced doubts in the name of political convenience – must be held to account.

Criticising a ‘politics of deference and backroom patronage’, they called for an end to ‘a culture that fears internal challenge’.

by James Tapsfield

Keir Starmer frantically tried to spread the blame for his disastrous decision to make Peter Mandelson US ambassador today as he grovelled for his job.

The PM painted himself as a victim of the New Labour architect’s ‘lies’, claiming he believed assurances he ‘barely knew’ paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein – despite a litany of reports already having exposed their relationship.

Scrambling to save his own political skin, Sir Keir stressed he ‘understands the anger and frustration’ of MPs, urging them to ‘remain focused on what we were elected for’.

Sir Keir attempted to throw MI5 and MI6 under the bus, suggesting they had failed to flag the ‘depth and darkness’ of the ties between the two men.

He also insisted documents about the vetting process will be published ‘as quickly as possible’ – pointing the finger at the police for the delay.

Keir Starmer’s premiership is in grave peril after Angela Rayner led a Labour revolt against his handling of the Peter Mandelson scandal.

The former deputy prime minister forced Sir Keir into a climbdown over the release of papers surrounding his appointment of the disgraced peer as US ambassador.

Ms Rayner is a likely contender to succeed the PM, and her decision to intervene is being viewed as a sign she believes his premiership is on the rocks. Some ministers are even said to be considering resigning in a bid to accelerate Sir Keir’s downfall.

The PM was wounded further when Tory leader Kemi Badenoch forced him to admit for the first time that he appointed Mandelson despite knowing he had remained friends with financier Jeffrey Epstein after he was convicted of child sex offences.

Labour’s former shadow chancellor John McDonnell suggested Sir Keir should quit over the growing scandal – but what do you think?

Take part in our Daily Mail poll below: