Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of looking “weak and naive and gullible” by a Labour grandee as he comes under ever-increasing pressure from within the party’s ranks amid widespread anger over the Peter Mandelson scandal.
Speaking to the Sky News Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman also warned that, unless the prime minister took the right course of action, the controversy would “finish him off”, as leadership speculation intensifies.
The Daily Mail reported that Sir Keir’s former deputy, Angela Rayner, who left government after underpaying stamp duty on a new property, had told friends she was “ready” to launch a leadership campaign. A spokesperson for Ms Rayner said: “We don’t recognise these claims.”
Sir Keir gave a speech on Thursday apologising to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims for believing Lord Mandelson’s “lies” about his relationship with the paedophile financier when the peer was appointed ambassador to the US last year.
Senior government figures will have to hand over their messages with Lord Mandelson, as the prime minister prepares to release files related to his decision to make the appointment.
Police are investigating allegations that Lord Mandelson, who has stepped down as a member, passed on market-sensitive information to Epstein when he was business secretary following the 2008 financial crisis.
