MP slams Starmer again over Mandelson fiasco

Montgomeryshire’s MP Steve Witherden has lambasted his Labour Prime Minister boss, Sir Keir Starmer, over his handling of the Peter Mandelson affair, and said “the public deserves better”.

Mr Witherden has been a vocal critic of some his party’s decisions since coming to office two years ago, and hasn’t been afraid make his opinion known on Sir Keir who is under fire over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite his well-publicised friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

He has issued another damning statement after the PM was grilled in Parliament that reads: “The blame being pinned on civil servants misses the point.

“The questions of the original sin came up again and again from MPs on both sides of the house: Why was Mandelson appointed at all given his long-standing association with a convicted child sex offender was widely known and understood?

“Mandelson was appointed precisely because his corruption was known, because it would be an asset as an emissary to a profoundly corrupt White House to be himself immersed in that corruption.

“That corruption failed the Epstein victims and it failed to protect our national security interests too. The public deserves better than this.”

Sir Keir claims that he wasn’t aware that Mr Mandelson had failed a vetting check prior to his appointment, and remains in post fighting for his political survival.