Morgan McSweeney, the former top aide to Keir Starmer, has been urged to hire legal representation before facing MPs next week, as concerns grow over the fairness of the proceedings. Tom Watson, the former Labour Deputy Leader, warned that Mr McSweeney may not receive a “fair hearing” when he appears before the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
Background to the Controversy
Mr McSweeney dramatically resigned in February, stating he took “full responsibility” for advising the Prime Minister to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador. The appointment sparked widespread backlash due to Lord Mandelson’s past associations with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, plunging No10 into turmoil.
Watson's Criticism of Thornberry
In a pointed attack on the committee chair, Emily Thornberry, Mr Watson accused her of “hogging time” during Sir Olly Robbins’ evidence this week and failing to focus on the facts. Speaking exclusively to this newspaper, he said: “You’ve seen the chair of the Committee pointing the finger. It feels like she’s putting him on trial, not getting to the facts. To me it seems like Emily Thornberry has already made her mind up, and that she thinks Morgan McSweeney is guilty, that he’s on trial and she’s a prosecuting lawyer. He’s not going to get a fair hearing.”
Mr Watson added: “I saw the Olly Robbins evidence, and I thought she hogged the time, and there was hardly any time to let the other committee members in. If I was Morgan McSweeney I’d be hiring lawyers because there’s severe reputational risk for him, with a committee chair who already seems to have made her mind up about him and is settling old scores.”
Defence of Starmer
Despite the criticism, Mr Watson dismissed accusations that the Prime Minister had lied over the appointment. He said: “I was horrified to see Keir Starmer accused of lying. He clearly isn’t a liar, and the evidence to the committee shows that. But it does show he needs to spend more of his time assessing political risk in the decisions he makes.”
Mr Watson also called for party unity, urging Labour MPs to focus on campaigning for the upcoming elections. He said: “These MPs doing the briefings should calm down and support the vast majority of their parliamentary colleagues who are working night and day in the elections taking place in a few weeks time.”
Outlook on the Premiership
A former senior Government official expressed doubt that the Mandelson scandal would lead to a change in Prime Minister. The official remarked: “I think Olly Robbins has come out of it with his reputation pretty much intact, if not enhanced. I thought it was a compelling performance in front of the committee. For what it’s worth, I still don’t quite see this as the issue that ends his premiership, I mean, really? With all the stuff that’s going on with the Gulf, with the state visit to America coming up, with Ukraine still looking a long way from any resolution, with how ridiculous the Tories looked when they kept changing Prime Minister, do they really want to do this now?”
Ms Thornberry declined to respond to Mr Watson’s comments.
