"What is clear, though, is that the mood of Labour MPs has darkened quite significantly over the course of today. That was displayed most vividly at Prime Minister's Questions. It is hard to come up with the right adjectives to describe what Sir Keir Starmer said about Lord Mandelson, or "Mandelson" as he kept referring to him, conspicuously not using the title the government intends to strip from him."
""Betrayed" - that was the word Sir Keir used to describe what Lord Mandelson had done to the country, to Parliament and to the Labour Party. "He lied repeatedly," the prime minister said. That language was designed to embody the fury and frustration so many Labour MPs feel - including, as he said again and again, Sir Keir himself. Yet what is concerning Labour MPs this afternoon is what came after:"
"This has for some time been implicit in the government's position. After all, it was public knowledge at the time of Lord Mandelson's appointment to the post of US ambassador. And the prime minister's defence is that he has only learnt subsequently of the true depth of Mandelson's friendship with Epstein. Still, Sir Keir making that admission has clearly spooked some Labour MPs in a big way."
Peter Mandelson's scandal accelerated rapidly, darkening the mood among Labour MPs. Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced Mandelson as "Mandelson" and said he had "betrayed" the country, Parliament and the Labour Party, adding "He lied repeatedly." Starmer admitted he knew Mandelson had maintained some relationship with Epstein after Epstein's conviction, though the depth of the friendship became clearer later. That relationship was public knowledge at Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador. Conservative Kemi Badenoch warned Labour MPs they risked becoming party to a "cover-up", heightening MPs' alarm and prompting unanimous concern in the immediate aftermath of PMQs.
Read at www.bbc.com
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