{"id":408282,"date":"2026-02-04T23:47:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T23:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/408282\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T23:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T23:47:11","slug":"labour-mps-say-starmers-days-as-pm-are-numbered-amid-fury-over-mandelson-keir-starmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/408282\/","title":{"rendered":"Labour MPs say Starmer\u2019s days as PM are numbered amid fury over Mandelson | Keir Starmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Labour MPs have warned that Keir Starmer\u2019s days as prime minister are numbered after a day of fury over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The government was on the brink of a defeat in the Commons until a mid-debate amendment brokered by Meg Hillier and Angela Rayner<\/a> to force the release of documents about Mandelson\u2019s appointment and the depth of his relationship with the convicted child sex offender.<\/p>\n

MPs said the eventual release of the documents \u2013 which may be delayed by a police investigation into Mandelson \u2013 could trigger a leadership challenge. \u201cWe need all the poison to come out,\u201d one MP said.<\/p>\n

One former minister said: \u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of bad days recently, but this is the worst yet, I think,\u201d while another MP warned: \u201cTrust is finite. I\u2019m personally not sure I could trust myself to back the prime minister in a confidence vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most terminal mood is among the super-loyal,\u201d an MP from the 2024 intake noted.<\/p>\n

MPs said that Starmer\u2019s admission at prime minister\u2019s questions that he had known about Mandelson\u2019s friendship with Epstein before his appointment was a clarifying moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could feel the atmosphere change; it was dark,\u201d one MP who had previously been close to Starmer said. No 10 said afterwards that the prime minister was only aware of what was already in the public domain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just indefensible,\u201d said one backbencher. \u201cThey knew all about Peter\u2019s relationship with Epstein but gave him the job anyway.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like Chris Pincher on steroids,\u201d they added, referring to the scandal that eventually brought down Boris Johnson. \u201cThe moment Keir admitted it then that was it \u2013 it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another former minister said: \u201cWe were meant to be the ones who didn\u2019t do this stuff. It\u2019s time for a fresh start, the sooner the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several MPs said the prime minister\u2019s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who had been close to Mandelson, should take responsibility for the failures and resign. \u201cThe government is on the run,\u201d another MP said. \u201cGoodness knows what will come out \u2013 there could be a lot of red faces and departures off the back of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

No 10 had said it hoped the documents would prove that Mandelson had lied about the depth of his relationship with the disgraced financier. But on Wednesday night, the Metropolitan police said it had blocked the release of certain documents in case they prejudiced a criminal investigation in Mandelson\u2019s apparent sharing of confidential government documents with Epstein.<\/p>\n

Earlier Downing Street attempted to mitigate the Conservatives\u2019 bid to trigger the release of the documents by adding exemptions for national security and to protect international relations. MPs called the move a \u201ccover-up\u201d and demanded the judgment be made by the intelligence and security committee of MPs \u2013 rather than the cabinet secretary \u2013 over what to release.<\/p>\n

Whips were warned they were on the brink of losing the vote as Hillier and Rayner rose in the Commons to argue for the role of the select committee \u2013 and were forced to draft a second amendment to appease MPs.<\/p>\n

Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, is understood not to have been planning to speak in the debate, but cancelled a lunch meeting when she realised intervention was needed to stop a potential government defeat.<\/p>\n

After her speech in the chamber, she spoke to the chief whip and leader of the house to broker the amendment, along with Hillier. \u201cYet again the prime minister has to thank Angela Rayner\u2019s swift political judgment to save this government from itself,\u201d said one MP, referring back to the concessions brokered by Rayner before the welfare reform vote.<\/p>\n

Backing Rayner for a leadership bid, they said: \u201cThe sooner the day comes that she\u2019s making the original decisions, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another MP said: \u201cIf Angela didn\u2019t have her tax investigation ongoing, she\u2019d be getting numbers [for a leadership challenge] offered to her tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Labour<\/a> backbencher called the day\u2019s events a \u201cbin fire\u201d, but said that while there was a lot of heat and noise behind the scene few Labour MPs and no ministers were yet willing to put their heads above the parapet. \u201cI think if Ange had said something it would be game over,\u201d they said. \u201cThe PM is safe for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cabinet ministers expressed annoyance at the handling of the amendments, with one saying it had been \u201cfrustrating\u201d. Another said they had warned the Cabinet Office over how it would look to attempt to mitigate the Tory motion \u2013 and said the priority should have been to avoid any move that could be interpreted as a cover-up.<\/p>\n

Several MPs told the Guardian that it would be \u201cironic\u201d if Starmer was forced out over Mandelson\u2019s links to Epstein, as they were convinced of his personal commitment to tackling violence against women and girls. \u201cWe\u2019ve never had a PM that cares so much about it,\u201d said one. \u201cIt would be mad if another man being mates with a paedophile brought him down, but it\u2019s totally possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The motion to release the documents relating to Mandelson\u2019s appointment passed on Wednesday night and No 10 said it would comply as soon as possible, in accordance with police advice. \u201cWe will comply with the motion, including publishing documents relating to Peter Mandelson\u2019s appointment, which will show the lies he told,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

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The Met said that it had \u201cadvised that the release of specific documents could undermine our current investigation. We therefore asked them not to release certain documents at this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing forward as material is made available to us, and if we identify further documents that we believe could prejudice our investigation, we will continue to ask the government to pause their release until such time as the risk of prejudice no longer exists. The integrity of our investigation is paramount to securing justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starmer said at PMQs that he would soon move legislation to make it easier to strip peers of their titles \u2013 including Mandelson. He said he had also asked King Charles to remove him from the list of privy counsellors.<\/p>\n

But he admitted during the exchanges that he had been aware of Mandelson\u2019s friendship with Epstein, suggesting the peer had lied during the first stage of the vetting process about the depth of the friendship.<\/p>\n

No 10 said Starmer was referring only to what was in the public domain. \u201cThis was looked into as part of the appointment process as the prime minister referenced today,\u201d the source said. \u201cPeter Mandelson lied to the prime minister, hid information that has since come to light and presented Epstein as someone he barely knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starmer will attempt to move back on to his domestic agenda on Thursday in a speech about the government\u2019s \u201cPride in Place\u201d scheme, intended as a replacement to the Conservatives\u2019 levelling up agenda.<\/p>\n

Starmer believes the plan to invest \u00a35bn over 10 years in more than 300 deprived areas will help dent the threat from Reform UK. The fund is meant to pay for regeneration efforts such as patching up derelict shops, pubs and libraries.<\/p>\n

The prime minister will announce on Thursday an extra \u00a3800m for the scheme, which will allow an additional 40 places to access funding, saying: \u201cIf you want to know where hope lives in Britain \u2013 it is in our communities, that is where people come together.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Labour MPs have warned that Keir Starmer\u2019s days as prime minister are numbered after a day of fury…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-408282","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-gb","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-greatbritain","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}