James Cleverly has called on Keir Starmer to resign, accusing him of failing to “take responsibility” for the deepening crisis surrounding Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador.
Speaking to GB News, the shadow housing secretary said the Prime Minister’s decision to appoint Lord Mandelson represented a “catastrophically bad judgment” and went “to the heart” of his leadership.
Sir James argued that Downing Street had gambled on Lord Mandelson’s political skills and international connections, particularly his perceived ability to build rapport with Donald Trump.
“The calculation was that the risk was worth the reward,” he said. “And that proved to be a catastrophically bad judgment.”
He also criticised Sir Keir’s handling of concerns linked to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying the Prime Minister could not now claim to prioritise victims when he had proceeded with the appointment in the first place.
“The Prime Minister keeps trying to blame other people, keeps trying to blame the system, blames everybody but himself,” Sir James said. “When you make a political appointment, the risk sits with the politicians. This is a very well-established principle.”
Sir James suggested that Olly Robbins had been brought in to resolve complications around the appointment after the decision had effectively already been made, claiming he suspected there had been an “implicit instruction” to ensure the process was completed.
“He did his job, and now he’s been fired, and that is totally unacceptable,” he added.
The Conservative frontbencher said the Prime Minister should “hold himself to the same standard” he had previously applied to Boris Johnson, insisting that by that measure “he should go”.
An emergency Commons debate on the issue has been called by Kemi Badenoch, with the Opposition arguing that Sir Keir failed to answer key questions despite spending more than two hours addressing MPs earlier this week.
“The simple truth is that it was his decision,” Sir James said. “He chose Peter Mandelson, despite his history. He overrode advice, he shortcut the process — he is responsible, and he has got to take responsibility.”
Downing Street has insisted the Prime Minister acted in good faith and has ordered an urgent investigation into how officials handled security vetting concerns, describing the failure to escalate key information as “staggering”.
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