Will Keir Starmer quit today? Calls for Prime Minister 'to go' as he faces mutinous Labour MPs amid anger over Lord Mandelson appointment

The Prime Minister is later expected to address a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) amid anger over his appointment of the peer as ambassador to the US despite knowing that his links with Jeffrey Epstein continued after the financier’s conviction for child sex offences. Skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith defended Sir Keir in a Monday morning media round after the resignation of top Starmer aide Morgan McSweeney over the Mandelson scandal.

Mr McSweeney quit as Sir Keir’s chief of staff on Sunday, saying he was taking “full responsibility” for giving the Prime Minister advice that resulted in the “wrong” appointment. But scrutiny of Sir Keir’s own judgment is mounting as critics, including some of his MPs, have highlighted that he made the final decision.

Labour veteran Baroness Smith rejected reports that Sir Keir is considering resigning and said he is “determined” to continue with his agenda for change. She told Times Radio: “The Prime Minister is taking responsibility. He took responsibility for the decision that was made about Peter Mandelson, although, to be clear here it was, of course, Peter Mandelson that in consistent lying and engagement with Jeffrey Epstein let down the party and the Government and the country.

“And I think that will become clearer as the information around the appointment is put out into the public domain.” Though she said it was Mr McSweeney’s decision to resign, she said he and Sir Keir agreed together it was the “right thing to do”.

But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Sir Keir was allowing his former chief of staff to “carry the can” for a decision he chose to make. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “(Claiming) ‘I was badly advised’ is not a good excuse for a leader. Advisers advise, leaders decide. He made a bad decision, he should take responsibility for that…”

She said Sir Keir had promised a Government that would be “whiter than white” and that his position is now “untenable”. Tory Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake has called Morgan McSweeney a “fall guy” and said Sir Keir Starmer “will ultimately have to go”.

The MP for Thirsk and Malton told the Press Association: “He’s a fall guy, and he can’t take responsibility for … the Prime Minister’s decisions… And yes, the Prime Minister will ultimately have to go, his position is untenable. It’s not just about Mandelson. Massive scandal, though it is. It’s a huge, huge scandal. But the heart of that is, of course, is Keir Starmer’s judgment.”