Starmer to face MPs sleaze vote over Mandelson vetting row
The Prime Minister has been accused of misleading the Commons by saying that "due process" was followed during the appointment of the disgraced peer as UK ambassador to the US
MPs will vote tomorrow on whether to refer Sir Keir Starmer to a privileges committee investigation over the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal.
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The Prime Minister has been accused of misleading the Commons by saying that "due process" was followed during the appointment of the disgraced peer as UK ambassador to the US.
He added 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.
Read more: Starmer 'could face sleaze probe' over Mandelson vetting row as Cabinet turns on Prime Minister
The PM has faced mounting pressure to appear before a sleaze inquiry over the appointment and outline what he knew about the vetting process.
Mandelson was removed seven months into the role after revelations about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein were published by the US Department of Justice.
MPs are now set to debate a motion tomorrow, likely in the name of Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, and then vote, with Labour likely to tell MPs to vote the probe down after No 10 branded the move "a desperate political stunt by the Conservative Party".
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy called the vote a “political stunt by the Conservatives” while speaking with LBC's Ben Kentish.
Mr Lammy said it is “crystal clear” Sir Keir did not mislead parliament as he took aim at the Tories for “muddying the waters” ahead of the local elections polling day on May 7.
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.”
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.”
An investigation by the Privileges Committee found that Boris Johnson had deliberately misled MPs over partygate, leading to him resigning from the Commons before he could be forcibly suspended.
The Ministerial Code states that ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament are expected to resign, while any inadvertent error should be corrected "at the earliest opportunity".
Ms Badenoch said the PM had misled Parliament "multiple times" on the subject and urged Labour MPs to "look into their consciences" and back an inquiry.
But because of their large majority in the Commons, it would take a large number of Labour MPs to go against the party line for inquiry to be launched.
Last week, Sir Olly, who was the senior civil servant in the Foreign Office until he was sacked by the PM, told the Foreign Affairs Committee last week that there was "constant pressure" to approve Lord Mandelson as the UK's ambassador.
But he added that this did not affect his decision to give Lord Mandelson security clearance to take up the role.
Responding to Sir Olly's accusations, Sir Keir told the Sunday times there were "different types of pressure".
"There's pressure – 'Can we get this done quickly?' – which is not an unusual pressure. That is the everyday pressure of government," he said.
Defending the prime minister, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: "It was categorically proven last week that the PM did not lie to Parliament.
"The prime minister had said that due process was followed and due process was followed, unfortunately the process was fundamentally flawed."
If the vote does take 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."