DAN HODGES: The deceit, deception and the duplicity have finally caught up with Sir Keir. He must resign in wake of Mandelson security vetting scandal

There’s something almost Shakespearean about the way it gets to this point. Remember where it started; On that gray July morning, Keir Starmer walked confidently down Downing Street, promising not only to renew British politics but to cleanse and purify it.

The man who swore to restore our nation’s standards, reputation and trust has now been finally and completely exposed.

A liar. A charlatan. A capricious fool.

It is somewhat surprising that it was revealed that Peter Mandelson failed official vetting by the security services before his appointment as ambassador to Washington.

The fact that Keir Starmer forced Mandelson to appoint him to such a sensitive post, then misled parliament, the press and the British public about the facts, turns this into a scandal on par with Profumo’s betrayal.

But on another level it was all too predictable. In March, when Starmer refused six times to answer Kemi Badenoch’s simple question about whether he had spoken to Mandelson before his appointment, it was clear that the Prime Minister feared this was a crisis that would end his premiership.

And now, despite the lost cell phone and deleted messages, we can all see why. Last year Starmer told Parliament directly and unequivocally that ‘the entire legal process has been completed’ in relation to the review of Mandelson and that as a result his full confidence in him was maintained.

Moreover, he claimed that this was the same process routinely applied to all new ambassadorial appointments.

Last year Starmer told Parliament directly and unequivocally that ‘the full legal process has been completed’ in relation to Mandelson’s investigation.

Never mind the convenient theft of Morgan McSweeney’s cell phone and the loss of the sensitive and concerning messages it contained. Thousands of emails and messages ‘disappeared’

Yesterday’s statements confirmed beyond doubt that the statement was a blatant, cold and calculated lie. Not only was the initial review conducted – at the Prime Minister’s behest – by two close friends of Mandelson: the Prime Minister’s private secretary Morgan McSweeney and communications director Matthew Doyle.

But the subsequent formal review process raised a red flag for Mandelson. According to the Labor-supporting Guardian newspaper, which published the story, Foreign Office officials had to resort to a rarely used procedure to overrule the review decision.

But it’s not just about the lies. As I have been writing for several weeks, since the Mandelson scandal broke and MPs voted to force the Government to release all documents relating to this sordid affair, Starmer and his minions have engaged in a comprehensive and concerted attempt to cover up the truth.

Never mind the convenient theft of McSweeney’s cell phone and the loss of tons of sensitive and concerning messages on it. Thousands of emails and messages were ‘disappeared’. Relevant briefing documents have been deleted. And, as The Guardian reports, ‘senior government officials are considering whether to withhold parliamentary documents that would reveal Mandelson was denied vetting clearance from security officials’.

But even the lies and cover-up pale in comparison to the horrors revealed by Mandelson’s latest revelation. I spoke to a senior member of the Whitehall security service. They said: ‘Do you realize how rare it is for someone to fail scrutiny? Whatever it was, it must have been something really important.’

The focus over the past few months has clearly been on Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. But as The Mail on Sunday reported in February, the security services of many countries had long expressed interest and concern about Mandelson’s political and business dealings.

He has been a target of Russian intelligence since 2004. He was warned about this by senior British and EU intelligence officials when he was European Trade Commissioner.

Mandelson wasn’t just a blackmail risk. He was someone actively pursued by agents of hostile foreign states.

Despite this, Keir Starmer insisted on forcing him through the system to Washington and into one of the most sensitive posts in the British diplomatic service. Indeed, one of the most scandalous parts of this whole affair was that the Prime Minister insisted on announcing Mandelson’s appointment before the due diligence process had been completed.

Incredibly, Downing Street claims it had no knowledge of the red flags raised against the Prime Minister’s prospective ambassador. But as I and my colleague Glen Owen wrote in September last year: ‘The security services have produced a single report into the potential problems raised by Lord Mandelson’s appointment. A number of “red flags” were raised after the information was shared with adversaries at the US State Department.’

In an echo of the so-called Dangerous Dossier, which paved the way for war in Iraq, sources claimed that objections had been softened. However, when this was put to Downing Street, it was categorically rejected.

These denials have been completely refuted by yesterday’s revelations. Keir Starmer is a Prime Minister who lives in complete denial.

Their fears about the Mandelson problem were entirely justified. From the moment this scandal broke (along with the first sickening emails revealing the true nature of Mandelson’s relationship with the world’s most notorious pedophile) there would be only one outcome. This would inevitably be the scandal that would bring down Sir Keir.

Last night I spoke to an angry Labor MP who was channeling the anger of many of his colleagues.

‘He must have known this would come out,’ he fumed, ‘but he still didn’t care. He continued to send us all to television stations and broadcast studios to defend himself. ‘He killed us.’

There is that. Because no amount of denial can give Starmer the shelter he seeks.

Let’s think about the magnitude of the event that occurred. The UK Prime Minister tried to divert a man who posed a major national security risk to the most sensitive diplomatic posts in the West. He did this despite the objections of the security forces. It made the tried and trusted processes for such an appointment obsolete. He lied to Parliament about this. He later tried to cover up his lies when he was ordered to release documents that would reveal them.

Yes, the Prime Minister’s pre-election promise to bring honor and dignity back to politics was torn up shortly after taking office. So who could have predicted what would happen since then? Of course, even he has to accept the truth now.

There is no way out now. The Mandelson Affair is nearing its end. Cheating, deceit and duplicity have caught up with Keir Starmer.

He was elected on the promise of cleaning up British politics. However, there is only one way for the Prime Minister to fulfill this promise. He needs to resign.