Keir Starmer fumes over 'unforgivable' Lord Mandelson chaos as he flees to France to address 'global responsibility' in Middle East

Susanna Siddell
Fri, 17 Apr 2026 21:59:42 +0000

Sir Keir Starmer has been left fuming over the Lord Mandelson vetting scandal and branded it as "unforgivable and staggering".

The Prime Minister told reporters in Paris he was "furious" Downing Street was not informed about Peter Mandelson failing to pass his vetting.

The PM sped off to France early on Friday to address a "global responsibility" to open the Strait of Hormuz while every other major party leader called for his head at home.

Last night, shortly before news of Sir Olly Robbins's Foreign Office exit emerged, Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage, Sir Ed Davey and Zack Polanski all declared the PM should resign.

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The Liberal Democrats have even asked Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser to investigate him for failing to tell Parliament Lord Mandelson had failed his security vetting as soon as he became aware.

But in Paris, Sir Keir is co-hosting a "virtual meeting" of global leaders with Emmanuel Macron and is having lunch with the French President.

Around 40 countries and the International Maritime Organisation were expected to dial in.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who also "lost confidence" in Sir Olly last night, will be joining too, alongside the Chief of the Defence Staff, Sir Richard Knighton.

But Sir Keir's international finesse has failed to quieten Westminster rumblings, requesting that the Labour leader get the boot.

The Conservatives led the way with Kemi Badenoch holding a press conference on Friday afternoon to call for Sir Keir to move out of No10.

"He has run out of people to sack. He has run out of places to hide. He has run out of authority. The buck stops with him. His position is untenable and he must go," she declared.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have demanded the same and described his position as "untenable".

Lisa Smart, the party's Cabinet Office spokeswoman, requested an investigation into whether the leader has breached the ministerial code over "catastrophic errors of judgment".

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Nigel Farage's Reform UK kickstarted a campaign to "Get Starmer Out" - in which they accused Sir Keir of "lying to the British public".

The Greens' MP Sian Berry declared the PM "must go". She said: "No more buck passing and scapegoating".

As a result of his opponents' unity, Sir Keir could now face a vote of no confidence as the Liberal Democrats eye up "joining forces with the Tories" to topple the Prime Minister.

After Mrs Badenoch confirmed she was considering such a vote in the Prime Minister, the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey announced this afternoon he would support her decision to do so.

And, now, parties across Westminster have said they are willing to work together to oust Sir Keir from his premiership.

This afternoon, the Kingston & Surbiton MP told GB News: "We don't have any confidence in the Prime Minister.

"That's why we're calling for his resignation. His story just doesn't stack up.

"I don't think people can be expected to believe that his national official went totally rogue on this issue of national importance, or that he didn't consider checking the evidence in the months after Peter Mandelson resigned."

On Sir Keir's accountability over the ongoing scandal simmering away along Downing Street, he said: "The Prime Minister shouldn't be blaming his staff. He should take responsibility himself."