Yvette Cooper was pressed on whether the Prime Minister’s judgement is in question over the appointment of Peter Mandelson after backbencher Clive Lewis suggested Keir Starmer may not be ‘up to the job’
Yvette Cooper has defended Keir Starmer’s judgement as Labour anger over the Peter Mandelson row grows.
The Foreign Secretary, who held crisis talks with the PM after emails the US Ambassador sent to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein came to light, said it was right to sack him. But questions remain over the decision to appoint him last year. Labour backbencher Clive Lewis publicly suggested the PM “does not seem up to the job” and warned of a “dangerous atmosphere” among MPs.
Asked why Lord Mandelson was appointed to the job and whether it left the PM’s judgement in question, Ms Cooper said during a vist to Kyiv, Ukraine: “Well as we set out yesterday the decision was taken because new information came to light that wasn’t available at the time of the appointment.
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“That decision that has rightly been taken and now our focus continues to be on the work that will continue, not just with the US government, but with governments across the world under the Prime Minister’s strong leadership, as we’ve seen here in Ukraine where I’ve been meeting with President Zelensky and talking about exactly about the things our PM has been doing.”
Pressed on whether there were any “alarm bells” over Lord Mandelson’s appointment, she replied: “Well clearly as was set out yesterday new information came to light that was not available at the time of the appointment. That’s why the decision was rightly taken.”
It came as Mr Lewis, MP for Norwich South, told the BBC’s The Week In Westminster programme: “You see a Labour Prime Minister who feels that he’s lost control within the first year. This isn’t navel-gazing. This is me thinking about my constituents, this country, and the fact that the person who is eight points ahead of us is Nigel Farage. That terrifies me. It terrifies my constituents, and it terrifies a lot of people in this country.
“We don’t have the luxury of carrying on this way with someone who I think increasingly, I’m sorry to say, just doesn’t seem up to the job.”
Earlier Labour frontbencher Douglas Alexander said Lord Mandelson was picked as the UK’s Trump whisperer because of the “unconventional” White House regime. The Scottish Secretary said he was “repulsed” by emails Lord Mandelson sent to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – but said he had been an effective US Ambassador who brought “very particular” qualities to the job.
Mr Alexander said: “The reason he was appointed was a judgment, a judgment that given the depth of his experience as a former trade commissioner for the European Union, his long experience in politics, and his politics and doing politics at the highest international levels, he could do a job for the United Kingdom.
“We knew this was an unconventional presidential administration and that was the basis on which there was a judgment that we needed an unconventional ambassador.”
The Cabinet member told Sky News he felt “incredulity and revulsion” when he saw the email exchange. In 2008, while Epstein was facing child sex trafficking charges, Lord Mandelson said: “I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened.” He urged his “best pal” to fight for early release, saying: “Your friends stay with you and love you.” Mr Alexander said: “I’m not here to defend him (Mandelson).
“What is important is to know that when the Prime Minister became aware of the content of those emails on Wednesday, by Thursday morning Peter Mandelson was dismissed as the ambassador.”
He added: “Nothing justifies Peter Mandelson’s appointment in light of what has now emerged and our thoughts have to be with everyone affected by Jeffrey Epstein’s heinous crimes. But the reality is, in the last couple of days Peter Mandelson was in the White House with Donald Trump. The reality is the United Kingdom did the first trade deal of any government with the Trump administration.”
He went on: “On one hand, Peter Mandelson did bring some very particular qualities to that job and to that diplomatic post, and on the other hand, as has been confirmed, there were manifest weaknesses of his judgment that have been brutally exposed by these emails.”
Downing Street said the PM still had confidence in his “top team” following questions over his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who was reported to have lobbied for Lord Mandelson’s initial appointment. Asked if Sir Keir still had confidence in Mr McSweeney’s judgment, a No 10 spokesman said: “Of course the Prime Minister has confidence in his top team and they are getting on with the important work of this Government.”
On Thursday the SNP tabled an early day motion demanding Lord Mandelson is stripped of his peerage. SNP MP Brendan O’Hara said: “The minimum the public expect is that Peter Mandelson is now stripped of his peerage and permanently removed from the public payroll.”
And he continued: “Removing Mandelson from the House of Lords is an important next step in this scandal but with every passing day more and more questions are mounting at Keir Starmer’s door – his judgement, his reputation and his authority are firmly on the line.“Peter Mandelson’s sacking isn’t the end of this scandal – until every question is answered and every document is released, this scandal will go on and on. The Prime Minister is at the very heart of this, and all these questions now fall on him.”
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