Gordon Brown has come to the defence of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, describing him as a “man of integrity” but acknowledging that he faces a “serious” battle to keep his job amid ongoing speculation about his future.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the former prime minister said: “I mean, there’s always speculation. It happened to me, it happened to Tony Blair. It happens to everybody about how their future should be gauged. But this is serious, and the task is very clear.” Brown added that Starmer may have been “too slow to do the right things” and made a “wrong decision” in appointing Peter Mandelson to a senior diplomatic role, but urged Labour MPs to stand by him.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that searches on two properties linked to Mandelson have concluded, but the investigation into misconduct in public office offences is “complex” and will require “a significant amount of further evidence gathering and analysis”. Meanwhile, Green party leader Zack Polanski called for Starmer to resign, saying the Mandelson scandal “erodes trust in politics”. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper has urged the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate Mandelson for possible insider trading linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
In a separate development, the Liberal Democrat peer Chris Rennard was suspended from the party after a new investigation into sexual harassment allegations found a previous inquiry was “flawed in several respects”. The PA news agency reported that top lawyer Adrian Darbishire KC visited a house linked to Mandelson near Regent’s Park in London during the police searches.
