Keir Starmer messaged Lord Mandelson the night before US ambassador announcement to say he was 'looking forward to working together'

Ed Griffiths
Thu, 23 Apr 2026 08:37:38 +0000

Sir Keir Starmer messaged Peter Mandelson the night before he announced him as US Ambassador, it has been revealed.

It comes as Sir Keir is facing a sleaze probe over claims he misled Parliament about Lord Peter Mandelson's appointment.

The Prime Minister continues to fight for his job after days of opposition politicians calling for his resignation.

The message was leaked after one of his most difficult weeks in charge.

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It read: "You’ll be brilliant in challenging circumstances.

"And after many years of our discussions, we get to work together side by side.

"I really look forward to that."

It comes after the Prime Minister's decision to sack Sir Oliver Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, over the handling of Lord Mandelson’s vetting.

Reform UK Home Affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, has launched a furious tirade on Sir Keir, accusing him of being "fundamentally evil" amid the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal.

Speaking to GB News, he hit out at the Prime Minister for his "disdain" for Britain and for "throwing people under the bus" - dubbing him "a liar".

He said: "This is a fundamentally I think actually quite evil man looking at this, looking at the way he treats people, his disdain for British people, his disdain for people who work for him and throwing them under the bus.

"He talks about taking responsibility - taking responsibility means actually bearing some consequences yourself for your actions of which he has done none."

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Meanwhile, Labour minister Alex Norris was asked by GB News if he has 100 per cent faith in Sir Keir Starmer, to which he replied "yes".

He added: "We are sorry for that appointment and if we knew what we knew today, we wouldn't have made it.

"But the reality is that there was information withheld from the Prime Minister."

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

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

Amid the controversy facing the Prime Minister, Liberal Democrat Business spokeswoman Sarah Olney has said her party is calling for Sir Keir to face the Privileges Committee.

She told GB News: "We very much want to see the Prime Minister referred to the privileges Committee. And I think it then remains to be seen whether a sleaze inquiry is then something that that should take place."

She said the question about whether or not the Prime Minister misled Parliament or not remains to be answered.

"I think that deserves serious inquiry. But as I say, we also would like to find out more about exactly what happened between the Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign Office, particularly around Matthew Doyle.

"We know now, of course, that he was an associate of a of a sex offender, but is still given a peerage.

"I think there are more questions for the Prime Minister's office to answer around that."