The Peter Mandelson files alone should be enough for Keir Starmer to resign, says Alex Armstrong

And the advice given to the Prime Minister stated clearly that “their relationship continued across 2009 to 2011.”

The advice doesn’t lie, does it? It’s there in black and white. Starmer knew this and still appointed Mandelson anyway.

This is just one of the damning revelations in today's partially released Mandelson files. Let me say this clearly: this should be a resigning matter for any politician, not just because it’s Keir Starmer.

But there is, of course, more sleaze and more scandal in these files.

The Prime Minister was also reportedly warned about concerning ties between Mandelson and figures connected to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

And yet, Starmer still went ahead.

It’s even being reported that some of the released documents indicate Mandelson may have been shown classified documents on January 6th 2025, before vetting was fully completed on the 29th of January 2025.

That raises serious questions about what Starmer told the House of Commons in September 2025.

Did he mislead the House of Commons? Big questions for Starmer to answer.

And look at how this Government handled the release of these files.

They dropped them after Prime Minister’s Questions, allowing Keir Starmer to dodge any scrutiny whatsoever. Then they published them just 23 minutes before the Commons debate on the issue. What a bunch of cowards.

In fact, it’s even been alleged that Labour MPs were handed a list of questions to ask in the debate, questions which appear designed to waste parliamentary time rather than scrutinise this scandal properly, like the public deserves.

And as for Mandelson himself, a man renowned for his exceptionally poor ethics and morality, he demanded over half a million pounds in compensation when he was sacked in disgrace, yet still walked away with £75,000 of taxpayer money.

Even worse, documents released today suggest the Foreign Office considered trying to cover up that payment and hide behind “process” as the excuse.

Mandelson even demanded "maximum dignity" and "minimum media intrusion" on returning to the UK from the US.

And remember – this is only the first batch of files. Many more are still being withheld because of an ongoing police investigation, while others are redacted for so-called “national security” reasons.

So if this is what we’re seeing already… imagine what’s still buried.

Frankly, this alone should be enough for Keir Starmer to resign and take a cabal of collaborators with him.

But let’s see whether this Prime Minister, who once presented himself as a man of integrity and ethics, actually does the right thing for once in his beleaguered premiership.