"The prime minister is furious, and more furious with Lord Mandelson than he has been with anyone else for years and years and years, I'm told. The mood among many Labour MPs is darkening, even blackening. There is a recurring sense from many of being on the wrong end of indefensible positions far, far too often, of which this latest row about Lord Mandelson is just the latest case study."
"But for others this is exactly the point: surely what was known publicly about their friendship at the time was enough to realise it would be a terrible idea to send him to Washington, goes their argument, particularly given even then there was the prospect of files like these being published at some point? In other words, this was a time bomb waiting to go off."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is furious with Lord Mandelson over revelations about Mandelson's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, and many Labour MPs are increasingly unsettled. The government faced a particularly difficult day, prompting internal questioning about its ability to get ahead politically. Lord Mandelson has declined to comment publicly despite offers. Some insiders defend Starmer and chief of staff Morgan McSweeney as having acted in good faith and argue they should not lose their jobs. Other voices say publicly known details of Mandelson's past associations should have prevented his Washington appointment, calling the move a time bomb.
Read at www.bbc.com
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