David Lammy slams Starmer sleaze probe vote as 'political stunt' by Tories ahead of local elections

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Speaking to LBC’s Ben Kentish, the Deputy Prime Minister said it is “crystal clear” his boss did not mislead parliament as he took aim at the Tories for “muddying the waters” ahead of polling day on May 7.

It comes as the PM comes under growing pressure to appear before a sleaze inquiry after it emerged Peter Mandelson was appointed as UK ambassador to the US despite failing his security vetting.

Starmer has been accused of misleading the House by claiming "due process" was followed during the appointment.

MPs are set to debate a motion tomorrow, likely in the name of Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, and then vote, with Labour likely to tell MPs to vote the probe down.

But Mr Lammy claimed: “This is a political stunt by the Conservatives to keep this thing running. And why do they want to keep it running?  They want to keep it running because we've got local elections.”

Read more: Keir Starmer to face MPs sleaze vote over Mandelson vetting row

Read more: Starmer hits out at 'wrong' opponents amid alleged Cabinet split over handling of Mandelson vetting

His comments came as Starmer has urged Labour MPs to reject a bid for a parliamentary sleaze inquiry into the Lord Mandelson vetting row.

In a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday evening, the PM said: “I have responsibility for being totally transparent with you, with Parliament and the British public.

“I take that very seriously as well. But this is not about a lack of transparency. “This is a political stunt by our opponents who want to bring us down, obscure our message, stop us getting on with our work.

“And the timing tells you everything nine days before local elections.”

He claimed the Conservatives had put forward “totally baseless” and “absolutely ridiculous” accusations against him and insisted the motion on Tuesday was “pure politics”, adding: “We need to stand together against it.”

Sir Keir added: “When we stick together and fight together we are so much stronger.”

Mrs Badenoch appears to be the leading voice pushing for Parliament's Privileges Committee to probe Sir Keir's statements to the House.

But Mr Lammy asked: “What is the basis for this new inquiry by the Privileges Committee other than a political deliberate attempt to harness a committee onto this issue to muddy the waters before a local election?”

He added: “It's crystal clear to me what's happening, and I hope no Labour MP joins in this one.”

But the Tory leader argues the PM did not follow due process because he never took the advice of then-Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who in 2024 told Starmer to complete the vetting process before announcing Mandelson’s appointment.

Starmer has also come under scrutiny for claiming that "no pressure whatsoever" was applied to the Foreign Office to push through the appointment, after senior civil servant Sir Olly Robbins told the Foreign Affairs Committee last week that there had been.

The Foreign Office's former top civil servant was sacked earlier this month over the department's vetting of Mandelson and the decision to overlook recommendations not to clear him for duty.

Cabinet allies and Labour heavyweights were seen to increase pressure on Starmer after Sir Olly’s sacking.

Stephen Kinnock, Labour MP for Aberafan Maeste, agrees that the Prime Minister should not face a sleaze probe amid the scandal.

Speaking to LBC’s Tom Swarbrick at Drive, he said: “Look, this is the opposition parties playing games. It's absolutely clear that we've got the Foreign Affairs Select Committee very robustly looking at this process. We've got the Humble Address, a huge amount of documents about to be released.”

The “Humble Address” process required the government to share information concerning Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to Washington, as well as his links to the late paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.

Mandelson was removed seven months into his ambassador role after revelations about his relationship with the convicted paedophile were published by the US Department of Justice.

“It's better to focus on the Humble Address process, the Foreign Affairs Select Committee process, rather than all this game-playing 10 days before polling day,” Mr Kinnock added.

Addressing the Commons during Prime Minister's Questions last week, Starmer insisted "full due process was followed" but added that the appointment of Mandelson was "a mistake, it was my mistake".

If a vote on whether this is wrong takes place tomorrow, it will coincide with several senior former government figures giving evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee, including the Prime Minister's former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and former senior civil servant at the Foreign Office Sir Philip Barton.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "Labour MPs must be given a free vote on any motion to refer Starmer to the Privileges Committee, not forced into being accomplices to a cover-up.

"If Keir Starmer has misled the House and the public, he must be held to the same standard that we should expect of any prime minister."

Reform UK's economic spokesman Robert Jenrick said the prime minister had "misled Parliament" and had "behaved appallingly".

However, he added: "Parliament needs to actually talk about the priorities of the British people, and that is not primarily about the ins and outs of Peter Mandelson."

A Downing Street spokesperson said: "The government is engaging with the two parliamentary processes that are already running on Peter Mandelson's appointment with full transparency.

"This is a desperate political stunt by the Conservative Party the week before the May elections because they have no answers on the cost of living or the NHS. Their claims have no substance."