Keir Starmer faces sleaze probe for 'misleading' Parliament over Lord Mandelson appointment

Ed Griffiths
Thu, 23 Apr 2026 06:38:34 +0000

Sir Keir Starmer is facing a sleaze probe over claims he misled Parliament over Lord Peter Mandelson's appointment.

MPs have urged Sir Lindsay Hoyle to refer the Prime Minister, as Sir Keir continues to fight for his jobs after days of opposition politicians calling for his resignation.

Kemi Badenoch is also thought to be pressing for his referral to the privileges committee, the same body that brought down Boris Johnson after he was found to have lied in the Commons over Partygate.

The Tory leader argues the Prime Minister misled the Commons when he said "due process" had been followed over the appointment of Lord Madelson as ambassador to the United States.

The first Labour MP called on Sir Keir Starmer to resign on Wednesday and said it was a case of "if, not when" he will leave Downing Street.

The Hartlepool representative told GB News he does not think "anybody reasonably expects the Prime Minister to lead the party into the next election".

Members of the cabinet, including Shabana Mahmood, Rachel Reeves and David Lammy, all reportedly raised concerns about how No 10 had responded to the scandal.

Sir James Cleverly has previously called on the Prime Minister to "take responsibility" and resign following his statement on the Lord Mandelson row.

Speaking to GB News, the Shadow Housing Secretary hit out at Sir Keir Starmer and the "unbelievable" scandal surrounding the disgraced peer.

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SNP vows to work with Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein to rip up United Kingdom forever

The SNP has vowed to work alongside separatist parties in Wales and Northern Ireland to rip up the United Kingdom forever after next month's local elections.

While Sinn Fein already holds power in Stormont, Plaid Cymru is on course to topple Labour in the Senedd on May 7.

John Swinney’s party is projected to win a majority in the Scottish Parliament - a result he argues would give him a mandate to negotiate with Westminster on a second independence referendum.

The Scottish First Minister said he would "enjoy the co-operation" of working alongside separatist parties as the devolved nations each push for independence from the UK.

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WATCH: Zia Yusuf slams Keir Starmer for his handling of the Mandelson fiasco, labelling him ‘an evil man!’

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Reform UK will order all schools to fly Union Jack and display portrait of King

Reform UK has announced plans to mandate that all schools display a portrait of King Charles and fly the Union Jack as part of sweeping education reforms.

The party unveiled its proposals ahead of St George's Day, pledging to implement a "patriotic curriculum" within the first 100 days of taking power.

Under the policy, at least 60 per cent of assessed history content would need to focus on Britain.

The Education Secretary would gain powers to intervene at schools that fail to comply with the new requirements.

Suella Braverman, Reform's education spokeswoman, said: "Tory and Labour governments have failed a generation of young people with a substandard curriculum that undermines academic rigour and national identity in favour of promoting their mass migration agenda."

She added: "Reform will end this. As Education Secretary, I will introduce a new curriculum that will rekindle national pride and ensure that every child leaves school with an understanding of what a privilege it is to be British."

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Senior civil servant faces Mandelson questions from MPs amid ‘Cabinet divisions’

A senior civil servant is set to be questioned about Lord Peter Mandelson’s vetting process, as Sir Keir Starmer faces mounting criticism from within his own party over the scandal.

This morning, Cat Little, the most senior Cabinet Office official, is to appear before the same group of MPs as Sir Olly Robbins did.

Sir Olly appeared before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday to give damning evidence about the role Downing Street played in the appointment of Lord Mandelson as British ambassador to Washington.

Ms Little last week told the Prime Minister that Lord Mandelson had been granted high-level security clearance despite vetting officials recommending against it.

Ms Little had known about sensitive information linked to Lord Mandelson’s vetting since March.

Downing Street previously said there is “absolutely no suggestion” that Ms Little’s position as Cabinet Office permanent secretary is in question.