Housing Secretary and Starmer loyalist Steve Reed was wheeled out on the morning round to run cover for the Prime Minister over the Mandelson scandal. Reed was pressed on the obvious: how could Starmer and Morgan McSweeney have waved through Mandelson as US Ambassador knowing he stayed in Epstein’s flat while the convicted paedophile was in jail? Reed said on BBC Breakfast:
“Mandelson made out that it was next to nothing, that they [Epstein and him] barely knew each other. That is what he said. There was a vetting process. It didn’t show up anything other than that. The prime minister deeply regrets it and he made that clear in the House of Commons. If he had known at the time what he knew now, that would never ever have happened.”
The idea that Mandelson said he barely knew Epstein doesn’t really wash now that Starmer has admitted he was aware of the ongoing post-conviction relationship before handing him the US Ambassador job. Reed added that Morgan Mcsweeney was “safe” in his role as Chief of Staff despite Labour MPs – including Karl Turner – publicly calling for him to go…
Last night, Labour was forced to hand over files relating to Mandelson’s appointment – though with an ongoing Met investigation and the Intelligence and Security Committee poring over other documents, Labour won’t say when they’ll actually surface. As Guido reported, Starmer held crisis talks with senior No10 staff last night amid mounting pressure over his leadership. It hasn’t stopped the front pages splashing that Starmer is “fighting for his future”. Even the Guardian has gone with: “‘It’s over’ for Starmer, say Labour MPs.” Death spiral…
Shadow national security minister Alicia Kearns told Times Radio she would have put a precondition on a China trip if she were PM:
“I would have put a precondition that I was not going to go if I was prime minister, unless Jimmy Lai was coming home with me. I would also put a precondition in the six months leading up to the visit that I wanted a reduction in hostile acts against our country. But that’s not what we saw. And actually, in contrast, what we saw was clearly the Chinese Communist Party did put a precondition, which was that the new embassy in London had to be signed off. So why is it okay for China to set preconditions and to make very clear red lines about what they require for a visit, but we go without having put any ourselves?”