The coming storm
The most immediate task is how to deal with the now-promised release of files relating to Mandelson’s appointment, a move for transparency that could prove damaging for Starmer and his top team as well as the former envoy.
Managing this moment could put him on the front foot again, if handled with extreme caution and fortitude.
One former aide who worked closely with Starmer, granted anonymity like others in this piece to speak candidly, said: “What is clear is the prime minister isn’t going to just give up. That’s not him. That’s not his nature… If he thinks he’s in the right position, he will hunker down.”
MPs are despairing that Starmer has been blaming Mandelson’s “lies” rather than wholeheartedly accepting his own judgement was in question. The same ex-aide quoted above said that when more information is made public, Starmer may finally have to say: “I made a mistake… it’s not just the vetting, I made a mistake, and I regret appointing him.”
A second senior Labour insider echoed this, saying Starmer was “at his best when he gets ahead of stuff” and “he needs something decisive to say when all the information comes out.”
After apologizing publicly to Epstein’s victims on Thursday, Starmer renewed his apology to MPs gathered at Chequers, according to two people present. It’s unlikely to be the last time he does so.