Angela Rayner coup ‘would trigger an election’, claims rattled Starmer camp as PM fights to contain Mandelson scandal

Sir Keir Starmer’s bewildered allies today issued a desperate warning to rebel Labor MPs that Angela Rayner’s leadership coup will trigger a general election.

The under-fire Prime Minister is fighting to stay in Downing Street, reeling from the Lord Mandelson scandal, with some bigots openly questioning his future.

In a bid to contain the crisis, Sir Keir promised to release documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador in February last year.

But the Government was forced to cede control of the release of material to Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), which will now decide what is made public.

Sir Keir was forced to make a U-turn on Wednesday following a House of Commons riot by Labor supporters led by former deputy Prime Minister Ms Rayner.

Following Wednesday’s incident, Ms Rayner told an MP she would ‘be ready’ to launch a leadership challenge despite an ongoing investigation into her tax affairs, the Daily Mail understands.

It has also been suggested that Labour’s ‘women in gray suits’ could be sent to tell Sir Keir that his time is up.

But to prevent the coup, Sir Keir’s allies insist that any new Prime Minister like Ms Rayner should not receive a personal mandate from voters and should therefore call a general election.

In other developments today:

• The Metropolitan Police searched two addresses in Wiltshire and North London as part of an investigation into Lord Mandelson’s misconduct in public office;
• Global Counsel, the lobbying firm co-founded by Lord Mandelson, cut all ties with this disgraced colleague;
• Dozens of MPs (including 22 from the Labor Party) backed calls for a comprehensive public inquiry into links between pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and figures in the British establishment;
• Conservatives release dossier containing ‘extensive evidence’ of information about Lord Mandelson’s links to Epstein; All of which he had before appointing Sir Keir as US ambassador.

A Labor official who served as a frontbencher for Sir Keir said: Telegram: ‘Probably Angela Rayner would have a completely different agenda if elected.

‘If you come in with a completely different agenda, the country will legitimately say, ‘We didn’t vote for that.’

‘So what are the reasons for rejecting the general election? You can make constitutional arguments, but in a world of media frenzy, TikTok, YouTube and GB News, is this really sustainable? ‘It doesn’t seem sustainable to me.’

Speaking of the possibility of a leadership change, a Cabinet minister backing Sir Keir added: ‘The pressure for an election will be huge.’

It comes amid fears in the government that the release of Lord Mandelson’s emails and messages from his time as US ambassador could thwart Sir Keir’s efforts to remain close to Donald Trump.

Authorities fear material released as part of an investigation into how Lord Mandelson, who emerged as a close friend of notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was recruited by the Prime Minister, could include ‘damaging’ comments made by the former diplomat about the thin-skinned US President.

“There are a lot of things that could be damaging,” an official told Politico, adding that the disgraced former minister and diplomat was “downloading his thoughts in real time.”

Epstein files show Lord Mandelson exchanged suggestive and indiscreet messages with the late child abuser; these included jokes about “well-hung young men” while he was a Cabinet minister.

On Thursday the Prime Minister said he was ‘sorry for believing Mandelson’s lies’ and for appointing him as ambassador to the US in February 2025.

Sir Keir has promised to release documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador in February last year

On Thursday the Prime Minister said he was ‘sorry for believing Mandelson’s lies’ and for appointing him as ambassador to the US in February 2025.

But Labor Baroness Harriet Harman said it seemed “weak, naive and naive” to say Sir Keir “lied to me” and warned the Mandelson scandal would “finish him” unless he took the right action.

“He needs to think about why he made this appointment,” he told Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast.

‘He should also consider a real reset at No10, because what you need from your team at No10 are people who share your values ​​and principles and who will help you be the best prime minister you can be, based on your true self.

‘And frankly that wasn’t because Keir Starmer, the DPP (director of public inquiries), would never appoint someone like Peter Mandelson to represent the country.’

Leadership speculation intensified on Thursday when the Prime Minister gave a speech apologizing to his victims for believing his peer’s “lies” about Epstein’s relationship with the pedophile financier.

Backbenchers have called for the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney to be sacked or for Sir Keir himself to resign following bombshell revelations about Lord Mandelson’s dealings with the child sex offender.

But on Friday immigration minister Mike Tapp defended the aide under pressure in a series of media interviews.

The so-called ‘special relationship’ between the UK and the US is already under pressure despite Sir Keir’s best efforts to maintain it.

Trump imposed tariffs on British-made imports, got into a huge row with America’s NATO allies and even belittled British troops who fought and died in Afghanistan.

The release could be delayed because the Metropolitan Police has asked the Government not to release documents that would ‘undermine’ the investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office.

And the ISC said it could not provide a timeline for the release of the documents as it reviewed whether some documents should be retained for national security reasons.

Labor Grandmother Baroness Harriet Harman said the Prime Minister appeared “weak, naive and naive” to say he “lied to me” and warned the scandal would “finish him”

Looking stunned at an urgent press conference in Hastings, the Prime Minister said he was ‘completely disgusted’ by revelations about Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein and was ‘sorry’ for appointing him as ambassador to Washington DC.

But he insisted he would ‘keep going’ despite growing anger from Labor over the debacle. And Downing Street rejected calls from Labor MPs to sack Mr McSweeney, who backed Mr Mandelson’s appointment.

Seven Labor MPs directly called for Mr McSweeney to go, while several MPs called for a wider purge of No 10 and two said Sir Keir should resign.

One of them, Simon Opher, said No 10 needed to be ‘cleaned up’.

On BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Friday, the Labor MP said: ‘There is a lot of anger among Labor MPs because we really want, I mean yesterday, to talk about the cancer care plan, not about Peter Mandelson.

‘So what we need to do, I think what we really need to do is I think Keir Starmer needs to change his advisers in No 10, I think he’s been given bad advice and he’s really disappointed with that decision in particular.’

Asked if that meant Mr. McSweeney would leave, Mr. Opher said: “I think yes.”

‘If my chief of staff had done this, I honestly think he would have looked for another job,’ he said.

Asked whether the Prime Minister was a ‘drawer’ on Labor, Mr Tapp told Sky News: ‘We are starting to turn the corner.

‘I believe that if we stay loyal to Keir Starmer, and we will, then the corner will turn quicker and people will start to feel it.

‘But I fully understand the anger and sadness at what happened with the appointment of Peter Mandelson.

‘I completely agree with that and that’s why I’m really pleased to see Keir Starmer make a sincere and heartfelt apology.’