PM told to quit as senior civil servant set to face more Mandelson questions | Politics News

Sir Keir Starmer has used his St George’s Day speech to warn of “voices both here and abroad” seeking to stoke division in Britain.

But it’s division within his own party that has the prime minister facing the biggest test of his time in office so far.

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Further cracks have emerged over his handling of the Lord Mandelson scandal, ahead of more potentially awkward evidence about the ex-US ambassador’s vetting process.

The most senior civil servant at the Cabinet Office, Cat Little, is set to face the Foreign Affairs Select Committee this morning. It follows the appearance of ex-Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins, who claimed Number 10 had a “dismissive attitude” towards Lord Mandelson’s vetting and pressured officials into approving his appointment.

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‘Constant pressure’ to appoint Mandelson

Ms Little was the one who told the prime minister last week that Lord Mandelson had been granted high-level security clearance despite vetting officials recommending against it.

She had known since March about sensitive information linked to the former Labour minister’s vetting.

The prime minister – who has faced multiple bruising sessions in the Commons this week – has accused officials of having kept him in the dark. He has accepted that he made the wrong call in recruiting Lord Mandelson but has continued to insist he would not have done so had he known he had failed vetting.

Sir Olly was sacked over the revelations last week, but Downing Street has said there is “absolutely no suggestion” his fate will be shared by Ms Little.

Ms Little’s appearance at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee will precede that of Sir Keir’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who has been summoned to give evidence next Tuesday.

It is highly unusual for a former prime ministerial chief of staff to appear before a Commons committee.

He resigned in February, saying in a statement that he “advised the prime minister” to appoint Lord Mandelson.

‘Not if, but when’ Starmer goes

Mr McSweeney had become a lightning rod for critics of Sir Keir on the Labour backbenches, but their concerns have persisted and grown over the past week as more details about the appointment have come to light.

Jonathan Brash, Labour MP for Hartlepool, has joined opposition leaders in calling for Sir Keir to resign. It’s a case of “not if, but when” he should go, Mr Brash told GB News.

There have been some signs of discontent in the cabinet, too. On Sky News on Wednesday, the work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, repeatedly declined to say whether he believed the sacking of Sir Olly was fair.

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Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, another close ally of the PM, said he was worried the Mandelson appointment “could blow up, could go wrong”.

He told Sky News he “steered well clear of him” when he was Labour leader.

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Miliband: ‘I steered well clear of Mandelson in 2010’

According to The Times, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is pressing for Sir Keir to be referred to parliament’s Privileges Committee, claiming he misled MPs with previous statements about Lord Mandelson’s appointment.

He had previously said “due process” was followed. Sir Keir has this week denied misleading MPs, as he had not been told about the failed vetting until last week.

Many in Westminster have long felt next month’s local elections – expected to be awful for the government – could be the moment Labour MPs move against the prime minister.

A major YouGov poll for Sky News projects the worst result in London for Labour since the 1970s, with the Greens and Reform benefitting. Labour could also lose control of the Welsh parliament for the first time.