British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has frantically tried to blame MI5 and MI6 for failing to flag the “depth and darkness” of Peter Mandelson’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
He has been desperately trying to spread the blame for his disastrous decision to make Mandelson US ambassador today as he grovelled for his job. This comes despite the links between Epstein and Mandelson two being well-known.
He even poured petrol on his leadership crisis by trying to claim he was not aware the disgraced Labour peer was pals with the pedophile.
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The Daily Mail reports: The PM painted himself as a victim of the New Labour architect’s ‘lies’, claiming he believed assurances he ‘barely knew’ paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein – despite a litany of reports already having exposed their relationship.
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Scrambling to save his own political skin, Sir Keir stressed he ‘understands the anger and frustration’ of MPs, urging them to ‘remain focused on what we were elected for’.
Sir Keir attempted to throw MI5 and MI6 under the bus, suggesting they had failed to flag the ‘depth and darkness’ of the ties between the two men.
He also insisted documents about the vetting process will be published ‘as quickly as possible’ – pointing the finger at the police for the delay.
But the premier has been warned the ‘clock is ticking’ on his leadership after an extraordinary Commons humbling yesterday, which left even loyalists admitting he is effectively finished.
Kemi Badenoch said it was now a ‘matter of when’ not if the PM will go, urging restive Labour MPs to talk to the Tories about triggering a vote of no confidence in the government – although that seems unlikely as it could trigger a general election.
A new YouGov poll found half of Britons (50 per cent) think Sir Keir should stand down and be replaced by a new Labour prime minister, compared to just 24 per cent who want him to remain in place.
The meltdown was sparked when Sir Keir admitted at PMQs that he installed Lord Mandelson in the crucial US job despite knowing he stayed friends with Epstein after his conviction for sex offences.
The government then tried to argue that details of Mandelson’s vetting process would need to be withheld for ‘national security’ and ‘international relations’ reasons.
But within hours Sir Keir was forced to U-turn by furious Labour MPs – including his former deputy Angela Rayner – threatening to vote for a Tory disclosure motion.
The cross-party Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) will now decide what material is released, with the chair warning ’embarrassment’ is not enough for evidence to be suppressed.
An ISC source also disputed Downing Street’s suggestion that talks had begun about releasing documents related to Lord Mandelson’s appointment.
The source said there were ‘no negotiations’ happening so far. ‘We just need the information,’ they added.
As the Epstein scandal refuses to fade into the background, listen below as Sir Keir Starmer sings the Barry Manilow classic ‘Mandy’ to Peter Mandelson (Courtesy of the The Crewkerne Gazette)
