MPs liken Starmer's crumbling government to 'last days of Rome'

Keir Starmer is wrestling to contain a mounting crisis in Labour today as despairing MPs compare his premiership to the last days of Rome.

The PM is facing another battering over the Lord Mandelson scandal with a three-hour 'emergency' Commons debate slated for this afternoon. There is speculation that Sir Keir will send a minister rather than fronting up himself.

But the mood in his own ranks is darkening, after he finally broke cover to face questions yesterday on the sacking of the US ambassador.

The premier acknowledged that he knew officials were looking into fresh emails between Lord Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein when he voiced 'confidence' in the New Labour architect at PMQs last week.

However, he insisted he did not know the contents - and seemed to throw his aides under the bus by saying 'in retrospect' it would have been 'better' if the detailed allegations had been 'put in front of' him before the high-profile session.