In an interview with Sky News podcast<\/a> Electoral Dysfunction, she said: \u201cHe\u2019s got to stop blaming Mandelson and saying, \u2018he lied to me\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause actually he should never have been considering him in the first place. And to say \u2018he lied to me\u2019 makes it look weak and naive and gullible. So it\u2019s just completely the wrong thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The path forward, in her view, is a \u201cfull reset\u201d of his advisers in No 10.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.31 EST<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n There will be \u201csoul-searching\u201d in Labour this weekend after a bruising week for the party, an MSP has said, as she called for \u201caccountability\u201d over the decision hire Peter Mandelson.<\/p>\n Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Labour<\/a> MSP Monica Lennon – a leadership contender in 2021 – said just mentioning Mandelson\u2019s name \u201cmakes my skin crawl\u201d, accusing him of abusing his position and public trust.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not what anyone in the Labour party wants to be talking about right now,\u201d she said. \u201cThe good work the government is doing has been completely overshadowed by these scandals.\u201d<\/p>\n She added:<\/p>\n I think there will be a lot of soul-searching over the weekend.<\/p>\n The prime minister clearly is distressed by the events and he is pointing fingers at Peter Mandelson, but there are questions for everyone at the top of government.<\/p>\n It can\u2019t just be someone steps down from a role, or there\u2019s an apology, there needs to be accountability.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Ministers and government officials must submit all communications with Mandelson, ISC says<\/p>\n Parliament\u2019s intelligence and security committee (ISC) has published a letter <\/a>explaining how documents relating to Mandelson\u2019s appointment as US ambassador will be published.<\/p>\n A key requirement is that all communications between Mandelson and ministers, government officials and special advisers (such as Starmer\u2019s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney) must be published.<\/p>\n The ISC also laid out that the cabinet secretary should decide which documents should be made public with an expectation that this happens \u201cvery shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n If there are any documents that could have implications for national security or international relations, then they should be handed over to the ISC, who will decide whether or not to publish them.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The one saving grace for Starmer is that no candidates have stepped forward to call him out \u2013 and many Labour<\/a> MPs are waiting for that person to make the first move.<\/p>\n Even as a number of names have been put forward as candidates who could take the top job \u2013 such as Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting \u2013 none have issued a direct challenge so far. That\u2019s causing frustration among some of the party\u2019s newest MPs.<\/p>\n Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting Composite: Getty and PA<\/p>\n Speaking to my colleague Jessica Elgot, one MP said they had \u201ccontempt\u201d for leadership contenders who had not taken their chance. \u201cSometimes in politics, it\u2019s about leadership. We needed leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n Another told her: \u201cIf you are not brave enough to be first out of the traps, you don\u2019t deserve to be prime minister.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.04 EST<\/p>\n Harriet Harman says Starmer looks “weak, naive and gullible” over Mandelson appointment<\/p>\n Number 10 clearly hoped that Starmer\u2019s apology to Epstein\u2019s victims on Thursday would help him regain the trust of the public and his MPs.<\/p>\n He said yesterday that the victims of Epstein had \u201clived with trauma that most of us could barely comprehend\u201d, and added: \u201cI want to say this. I am sorry \u2013 sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed, sorry for having believed Mandelson\u2019s lies and appointed him, and sorry that even now you\u2019re forced to watch this story unfold in public once again.\u201d<\/p>\n His statement centered around the view that Mandelson lied to him about the depth of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction as a sex offender.<\/p>\n That apology hasn\u2019t done what he wanted.<\/p>\n Instead, the criticism has continued from all corners of the party. One of the most stinging lines came from Harriet Harman, a sitting member in the Lords and a former deputy leader of the Labour<\/a> party, who said the scandal made him look \u201cweak, naive and gullible.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with Sky News podcast<\/a> Electoral Dysfunction, she said: \u201cHe\u2019s got to stop blaming Mandelson and saying, \u2018he lied to me\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause actually he should never have been considering him in the first place. And to say \u2018he lied to me\u2019 makes it look weak and naive and gullible. So it\u2019s just completely the wrong thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The path forward, in her view, is a \u201cfull reset\u201d of his advisers in No 10.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.31 EST<\/p>\n McSweeney staying would leave the prime minister\u2019s position \u201cuntenable,\u201d Labour MP says Downing Street has defied calls to remove Keir Starmer\u2019s most senior aide, insisting Morgan McSweeney<\/a> retains the prime minister<\/a>\u2019s confidence, as frustration grows over a wait for documents on Peter Mandelson, which some fear could last for weeks.<\/p>\n Amid warnings from Labour<\/a> backbenchers that McSweeney\u2019s survival would leave Starmer\u2019s position \u201cuntenable\u201d, Starmer apologised to victims of Jeffrey Epstein for appointing Mandelson, a close friend of the convicted child sex offender, as US ambassador.<\/p>\n A day after a chaotic Commons deal<\/a> to release vetting papers over Mandelson\u2019s appointment<\/a> left many Labour MPs mutinous, there was still fury about the role of McSweeney, the PM\u2019s chief of staff.<\/p>\n One Labour<\/a> MP said: \u201cPeople want [McSweeney] to go, more than ever before. The current situation is unsustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n Karl Turner, the Hull East MP and a vocal critic of the current No 10 operation, said McSweeney staying would leave the prime minister\u2019s position \u201cuntenable\u201d<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t want the PM to go. What I want is the PM to make changes,\u201d he told the BBC.<\/p>\n Downing Street officials pointed to Starmer\u2019s strong defence of McSweeney in the Commons on Wednesday, in which he said nothing had changed. Supporters of the PM are aware that shedding his chief of staff could leave Starmer more directly in the firing line in a future crisis.<\/p>\n Read the full story: No 10 defies calls to sack Morgan McSweeney over Mandelson appointment<\/a><\/p>\n Share<\/a>Labour MP says that Keir Starmer needs a “clearout” of advisers in No 10<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to Friday\u2019s edition of our UK politics blog.<\/p>\n To start, I want to take you back to what feels like another era\u2026 July 2024.<\/p>\n Keir Starmer\u2019s message to the British people during the last election cycle was pretty simple: Labour were the grown-ups in Parliament and were the only party who could be trusted to govern the country.<\/p>\n![\"Peter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770373147_600_Peter_Walker.png\")
Peter Walker<\/p>\n