Sir Keir Starmer is fighting to save his political career amid the Peter Mandelson scandal gripping the government.
Starmer has been branded “weak” as he is facing more pressure from Labour and opposition MPs to sack his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, and some minister are circling like vultures high in the sky waiting for the roadkill.
The Prime Minister has been warned that he is acting “weak and naïve and gullible” by the much respected Baroness Harriet Harman, once known as “mother” of the House of Commons.
Simon Opher, a Labour MP and GP told the Today programme, “There’s a lot of anger amongst Labour MPs, because really we want to, I mean, yesterday, I want to be talking about the cancer care plan, not about Peter Mandelson.
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“So I think what we need to do, I think what needs to really happen is that we need to, Keir Starmer needs to change his advisers in Number 10, I think he’s been badly advised, and he’s been really let down, particularly on this decision.
“I mean, I know in politics, we really rely on people to sort of cover our backs, our advisors, and I think they patently haven’t done this with Peter Mandelson, and I think so we need a bit of a clear out really at number 10.”
He was asked if this means McSweeney should leave, Opher said, “I think so yes”.
“If my chief of staff had done this I think he would be looking for another job to be honest.”
Speaking to Sky News Baroness Harman said, “He’s [Starmer] got to stop blaming Mandelson and saying, ‘he lied to me’. Because, actually, he should never have been considering him in the first place.
To say ‘he lied to me’ makes it look weak and naive and gullible. So it’s just completely the wrong thing.”
She added, “Peter Mandelson was called the Prince of Darkness.
“It’s not a secret that he was a bad person.
I think that it is very, very serious for Keir Starmer because it goes to the values of the government.”
Home Office minister Mike Tapp told Sky News, “We’re starting to turn the corner.
“I believe if we stick with Keir Starmer, which we will, then that corner will turn faster and people will start to feel it.
“But I completely understand the anger and the distress at what’s happened with Peter Mandelson’s appointment. I completely agree with that, and that’s why I’m really pleased to see a genuine, genuine apology from Keir Starmer.”
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