https://arab.news/yr8kf
Not for the first time, the media bubble in London has been opining on how many days Keir Starmer has left as prime minister. That was last week as Morgan McSweeney resigned as his chief of staff, followed by his head of communications. The Cabinet secretary also stood down.
All of this came in the wake of damaging revelations in the Epstein files about Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to Washington. He is a man who has been a stalwart of New Labour in the Blair-Brown years, and close to the Starmer camp. The issue for Starmer centers on whether he recklessly ignored warnings about Mandelson before appointing him to this prime diplomatic role. It is the prime minister’s judgment that is in question.
Labour politicians were furious. Many had been skeptical about Mandelson, a man who was forced to resign twice from Cabinet roles. His friendship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was well known. How did this not come up in security vetting?
Starmer was forced to apologize for having appointed Mandelson. Many at the time were surprised, but others had seen a benefit in deploying such an experienced political operator with so many contacts across the American political and business worlds.
