Two MPs were ejected from the House of Commons on Monday after accusing Sir Keir Starmer of lying over the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Reform UK's Lee Anderson and Your Party's Zarah Sultana were both ordered to leave by the Speaker for breaching parliamentary rules that prohibit MPs from accusing one another of lying or deliberately misleading.
Mr Anderson, the Ashfield MP, was asked to withdraw his comments after stating that the Prime Minister had “been lying” throughout the scandal. He refused, saying: “I will not withdraw it. That man couldn't lie straight in bed.” He then complied with the Speaker's order to leave.
Ms Sultana went further, branding Sir Keir a “bare-faced liar” and accusing him of “gaslighting the nation”. She initially refused the Speaker's offer to depart, leading to her being “named” – a procedure that can result in suspension. The Speaker held a vote, and she was suspended from the services of the House.
The incident occurred during a statement in which Sir Keir set out a timeline of who knew what about Lord Mandelson's failed security vetting. The Prime Minister said it was “staggering” that he was not informed that Lord Mandelson had failed checks, and that Parliament should have known “a long time ago”. He took personal responsibility for the ultimate decision to appoint the former Cabinet minister.
Sir Keir revealed that Foreign Office officials had approved Lord Mandelson's developed vetting status despite security experts recommending against it. He said he would not have proceeded with the appointment if he had known the UK Security Vetting agency had declined to grant clearance. The Prime Minister effectively fired the Foreign Office's top civil servant, Sir Olly Robbins, after discovering the vetting had been granted despite the failure.
The last MPs to be “named” and suspended were Alba Party MPs Neale Hanvey and Kenny MacAskill in July 2022 for a protest during Prime Minister's Questions.
