Call for PM Keir Starmer to resign amid Mandelson scandal

The prime minister should resign over his handling of the Peter Mandelson scandal, according to a Welsh Labour MP.

Anger is growing among Labour MPs, who are unhappy with Sir Keir Starmer giving Lord Mandelson the key job of US ambassador in 2024.

Sir Keir has said he was aware of the former business secretary's ongoing friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted paedophile who died in 2019, when he appointed him.

A Welsh Labour MP who did not want to be named told BBC Wales: "Starmer has to go - do the decent thing".

Amid tense scenes in the Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir said Lord Mandelson repeatedly lied to him about the extent of his friendship with convicted paedophile Epstein.

Under pressure, the UK government said it would release all material relating to Lord Mandelson's appointment, with sensitive documents referred to a cross-party security committee.

The former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner probably led the calls for the committee to be involved.

One Welsh Labour MP told BBC Wales: "Starmer has to go - do the decent thing. Angela Rayner is probably leading a revolt but she is not the solution."

Another unnamed Welsh Labour MP told BBC Wales that it was "a dire situation" adding that Sir Keir should stay but sack his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who many people accuse of poorly advising him.

The Labour MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, Steve Witherden, told BBC Wales that he was prepared to vote against the government's initial plan which would have given the prime minister control over which documents relating to Lord Mandelson were published.

Witherden said McSweeney "clearly has to answer" for his role in the appointment of Lord Mandelson despite details of his relationship with Epstein being publicly known.

"The prime minister must reveal the full truth or his position will become untenable," he added.

The Conservatives' Shadow Welsh Secretary, Mims Davies was at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons on Wednesday.

She told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast how the events unfolded over Sir Keir's handling of the Mandelson-Epstein scandal.

"I think it was jaw dropping.

"I was on the front bench sitting next to our shadow Secretary of State for health and we heard the prime minister finally admitting that he did know about that ongoing relationship between Peter Mandelson and Jeffery Epstein, the convicted paedophile.

"But you could hear a pin drop, and I think everybody was aghast and not least Labour MPs.

"I think in all of this, the victims must be at the heart of who've been suffering of this. We need to be thinking about them, finding out who is responsible for this decision, but ultimately it shows the prime minister's terrible judgement once again."

At Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir told the Commons he was misled about the "sheer depth and extent" of Lord Mandelson's relationship with Epstein.

"He lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador. I regret appointing him," he said.

"If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government."

Lord Mandelson has not responded to requests for comment - the BBC understands his position is that he has not acted in any way criminally and that he was not motivated by financial gain, and his view is that he answered questions about his relationship with Epstein in the vetting process accurately.

Asked if Sir Keir was the right person to be prime minister, First Minister Eluned Morgan told BBC Wales: "I think we've got to remind ourselves that without Keir Starmer we wouldn't have had the biggest uplift that we've ever seen in relation to funding coming to Wales.

"We wouldn't have had that big announcement in terms of Wylfa and the development of small modular reactors transforming the economy of north Wales and the protection for people in South Wales where those coal tips have been."

She said that those things "were not there under the Tory prime ministers we've had before" adding: "It's great to see that Keir Starmer has actually addressed those issues."

Speaking at a Reform UK event in south Wales, party leader Nigel Farage said: "What was interesting yesterday was watching the faces of the backbenches in the Commons, there was almost no support for him at all.

"I even saw Labour MPs with their eyes shut, just sitting through it saying to themselves 'please could this be over'."

Farage said that Sir Keir was "deeply unloved by his own party", adding: "He is the most unpopular prime minister in modern times".

"Ultimately, prime ministers gets things right, they get things wrong. The reason they become prime minister is because people trust their judgement and his judgement is seriously wrong.

"I very much doubt if he will be there in three or four months time."

Sir Keir has been accused of showing "weak leadership and poor judgement" by Plaid Cymru's parliamentary leader Liz Saville Roberts.

She said: "The prime minister could have come to the House on Monday to apologise and take responsibility. Instead he sent the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to answer for a decision that was entirely his own, leaving it until Thursday before apologising.

"Claiming he was misled does not wash. Responsibility for senior appointments rests with him and this failure of judgement strikes at the very heart of whether he can continue to lead."

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has written to Morgan calling on the Labour led Welsh government to conduct an official audit to review the implications of Lord Mandelson's connections with Epstein on Wales and the Welsh government.

In February, BBC Wales is holding a live debate in Aberystwyth with a panel of politicians ahead of the Senedd election. Click below to apply to be in the audience.