DAILY MAIL COMMENT: For all his bluster and denials, buck stops with Sir Keir

The job of defense attorneys is to let clients off the hook, regardless of whether they are innocent or guilty.

They can exploit any loophole, uncover any technical or bureaucratic errors in the investigation, and try to shift the blame to others to ensure an acquittal.

Politics is different, especially when the man on the podium is the prime minister.

Sir Keir Starmer cannot blame everyone else for his shortcomings or plead ignorance when a scandal emerges at the heart of his government.

And he cannot escape the guilt by dismissing his subordinates and telling them that they let him down. He is the head of government, not a confused observer.

Sir Keir’s legalistic approach to the Mandelson debacle perfectly illustrates the astonishing lack of political judgment that resists his spell of power.

He has already been publicly (and a large segment of his own party) guilty of incompetence at best, deception at worst. It may hold out until next month’s local elections, but its days are numbered.

Consider the facts. In December 2024, Sir Keir decided to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador, whom he believed could work well with Donald Trump.

This was an ill-advised choice, given Mandelson’s history of fraud, his connections to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and various shady oligarchs, and his relentless pursuit of money. But despite many alarm bells, including an initial assessment warning that the appointment posed a ‘reputation risk’, the Prime Minister stood firm.

He gave the job to Lord Mandelson before a rigorous ‘enhanced review’ (DV) was carried out; a surprising move given its peer’s checkered history.

We have now learned that Mandelson failed the DV procedure in January last year but was still given permission to take over.

The Prime Minister’s biggest problem is that he has repeatedly told the House of Commons that ‘full due process’ was observed. This is simply not true, so Sir Keir misled Parliament on multiple occasions (including twice in one day). Now the question is whether he did this on purpose or not. If that were the case, he should have resigned.

He claims Sir Olly Robbins, the chief Foreign Office official, knew Mandelson had failed his security clearance but refused to tell him. “I’m absolutely furious that I wasn’t told,” Sir Keir said.

So, is it believable for an officer of Sir Olly’s seniority and experience to make such a vital decision unilaterally? That’s not how government works. Civil servants make recommendations, ministers decide. And as a man obsessed with process, does it make sense that Sir Keir did not ask about the DV outcome before Lord Mandelson took on the most important role in the diplomatic service?

What does it say about his leadership that he is so oddly curious? He was supposed to drive the Government train and not just be a passenger.

Sir Olly resigned; He is the latest in a long line of senior advisors who have been sacrificed to save the Prime Minister’s life.

But we have yet to hear his version of events that would be highly instructive. Interestingly, his supporters insist he has done nothing wrong.

On Monday Sir Keir will make a last-ditch attempt to cling to power with a Commons statement providing ‘full transparency’ about the harrowing saga. But despite all the fuss, the truth is that its end has come.