Liz Kendall tries to limit fallout from vetting scandal as PM prepares for Commons showdown
Keir Starmer did not gamble with national security by appointing Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, a cabinet minister has said, as the government tried to limit fallout from the scandal.
With the prime minister preparing for a high-stakes Commons showdown on Monday, Liz Kendall said Starmer should not lose his job over last week’s revelations because he had “made the right calls” on the big issues facing the country.
The technology secretary warned Labour MPs who might be considering a leadership bid that, with a cost of living crisis and global uncertainty, they would lose public support if they prioritised their own futures rather than the country’s.
Starmer has been grappling with the Guardian’s revelation that Mandelson was appointed despite failing security vetting, which led to the sacking of Oliver Robbins, the Foreign Office’s top civil servant.
