LIVE UPDATES:
“The appointment of Mandelson as ambassador was a serious error of judgment. I advised the Prime Minister in support of that appointment and I was wrong to do so…
“I resigned because I believe responsibility should rest with those who make serious mistakes. Accountability in public life cannot apply only when it is convenient. The Prime Minister relied on my advice and I got it wrong. It is also important, however, to distinguish between what I did do and what I did not do.
“What I did do was make a recommendation based on my judgment that Mandelson’s experience, relationships and political skills could serve the national interest in Washington at an important moment. That judgment was a mistake. What I did not do was oversee national security vetting, ask officials to ignore procedures, request that steps should be skipped or communicate, implicitly or explicitly, that checks should be cleared at all costs. I would never have considered that acceptable.”
Red Wall Labour backbencher Jonathan Brash told GB News that Starmer should resign:
“I’m completely fed up about it, and I think it’s got to the point now where I genuinely think that, as far as the Prime Minister is concerned, it’s not a case of if, it’s when.”