Starmer jeered as Mandelson scandal dials up the dysfunction

April 21, 2026 — 1:30pm

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London: A comedian could not have done a better job than Keir Starmer when scripting the British prime minister’s earnest line to parliament on Monday about the scandalous mistake that might cost him his job.

“Many members across the House will find these facts to be incredible,” Starmer told the House of Commons on Monday.

That drew jeering laughter from the enemies in front of him, while the allies behind him stared stonily ahead. In defending himself on the charge of misleading parliament, Starmer uttered the very words that undercut his case for being believed.

The rejoinder is easy to script. Starmer and his government are simply unbelievable. In years to come, observers will truly find the facts to be incredible when they consider how he soared to power in 2024 with a record majority and became Britain’s most unpopular prime minister less than two years later.

But Starmer survived the inquisition in parliament on Monday about the process to appoint Peter Mandelson to be ambassador to the United States – a catastrophic decision given the former Labour cabinet minister’s friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

For all the media noise about the process and the revelation that Mandelson failed security vetting by a key government agency, Starmer was always likely to survive the immediate pressure.

The latest revelations have highlighted the foolishness of the appointment. Starmer named Mandelson to the post on December 20, 2024, but he did this as a captain’s call, and the decision was made public before Mandelson was subject to official security vetting.

Mandelson was........

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