Zia Yusuf rips Keir Starmer apart on BBC QT over Mandelson scandal | Politics | News

Zia Yusuf attacked Sir Keir Starmer, branding him a “disgrace to his office”.

Reform UK’s head of policy has called on the Prime Minister to resign over his botched handling of Lord Mandelson’s links to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Appearing on the BBC’s Question Time programme, Mr Yusuf said: “Parliamentary Keir Starmer has admitted he knew Peter Mandelson continued his disgusting friendship with Jeffrey Epstein even after Epstein was convicted as a pedophile.”

He added: “Keir Starmer chose to ignore the advice of the security services and make this man the UK ambassador to the US.

“Yes, of course, Peter Mandelson almost certainly deserves to go to prison, but the responsibility lies with the executive. Keir Starmer is a disgrace to his office and should resign.”

The Prime Minister weathered another harrowing day of leadership speculation on Thursday evening after delivering a speech apologizing to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims for believing his peer’s “lies” about his relationship with the pedophile financier.

Many MPs have expressed distrust of the Prime Minister’s No 10 team and pointed the finger at Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, whom they blame for his ally Lord Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to the US last year.

Presenter Fiona Bruce told the programme: “The BBC understands that Peter Mandelson’s conduct was that he did not engage in criminal behavior in any way and that he was not acting for financial gain.”

Emails released by the US Department of Justice appear to show Lord Mandelson passed potentially sensitive information to Epstein in 2009 when he was trade secretary under former prime minister Gordon Brown.

Detectives will interview Lord Mandelson and request access to his devices, as well as take witness statements from senior figures in the Labor Party, including Mr Brown and senior public servants at the time the emails were sent.