UK PM Starmer faces vote on possible parliamentary probe over Mandelson
by William James
LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) – Britain’s parliament will vote on Tuesday on a possible inquiry into Prime Minister Keir Starmer and examine whether Starmer misled the House of Commons over the appointment of former U.S. ambassador Peter Mandelson.
Such an investigation could have serious implications for Starmer’s future. He has so far resisted pressure to resign over his decision to hire Mandelson, but his position is likely to become untenable if he is found to have knowingly misled parliament.
Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle said she had approved opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch’s request for parliament to debate and vote on whether the Privileges Committee should examine the matter.
Mandelson was fired by Starmer last September after it became clear that his relationship with US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ran deeper than previously known.
DOUBTS ABOUT THE PRIME MINISTER’S DECISION
This raised doubts about Starmer’s judgment in hiring him; exacerbated by the revelation that a vetting agency had described the appointment as a borderline case and took a stance against authorizing it; This decision was overturned by foreign ministry officials without notifying the prime minister.
Starmer’s centre-left Labor Party has a large majority in parliament, which could allow the government to instruct MPs to vote against launching an investigation.
A spokesman for Starmer’s office described Badenoch’s vote push as a “desperate political stunt” ahead of local elections on May 7.
Hoyle said the decision to allow the vote should not be taken as an indication of whether Starmer had done anything wrong.
If Parliament votes in favor of the inquiry, the committee, made up of MPs from the three largest parties, will examine whether Starmer’s statements about Mandelson knowingly or unintentionally misled the House of Commons.
The focus of such an investigation is expected to center on Starmer’s statement that due process was followed in hiring Mandelson.
The committee previously found that former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson knowingly misled parliament about parties breaking the rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnson had already resigned as prime minister when the report was published, but resigned from parliament altogether after seeing a draft copy of the findings.
(Reporting by William James; Editing by Kate Holton and Gareth Jones)
