UK Parliament Votes on Motion Accusing Starmer of Misleading House Over Mandelson Vetting

S. ambassador, following testimony from key figures including Morgan McSweeney and Sir Philip Barton to the Foreign Affairs Committee. The motion, spearheaded by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and signed by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, as well as SNP, DUP and independent MPs, identifies three possible areas of misleading statements: Starmer's insistence on full due process, developed vetting for Mandelson, and no pressure on officials.

If passed, the issue would go to the Privileges Committee, which in 2023 ruled that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had misled MPs about parties in Downing Street during Covid. Graham Jones, a former Labour MP, declared Starmer's position untenable and stated that the recollection of events in appointing Mandelson does not stack up.

Jones said, 'I think the Prime Minister's in a very difficult position.

' Jones said he does not believe Starmer did not find out until April that Mandelson had failed the security vetting. ' He added that if Starmer is innocent, the vote should go ahead, but if Starmer feels guilt, No10 will block the vote. ' Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart claimed a lot of Labour MPs are furious with Starmer for being serially dishonest.

Burghart said the Conservatives have been leading on the issue and working with other opposition parties. He stated that Starmer has misled the House, adding that the Prime Minister lied to Parliament and refused to admit wrongdoing. Burghart said the vote is on whether the issue will be formally investigated by a cross-party group of MPs, and that the Labour Party does not want the investigation to go ahead.

A No10 spokesman told GB News that the Government is engaging with the two parliamentary processes on Peter Mandelson’s appointment with full transparency. The spokesman said this is a desperate political stunt by the Conservative Party the week before the May elections.

Starmer branded the vote pure politics and urged Labour MPs to stand together against it, delivering an impassioned speech to Labour MPs on Monday evening.

Cabinet ministers rallied support for Starmer ahead of the vote, with No10 conducting an operation on Monday evening to ensure Labour MPs were on side, including cabinet ministers ringing backbenchers. Gordon Brown issued public statements backing Starmer. Labour MPs have been ordered to vote down the proposal.

The Foreign Office was not consulted ahead of Mandelson's appointment, according to the Financial Times. The Ministerial Code states that ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament are expected to resign, and any inadvertent error should be corrected at the earliest opportunity.

The government published a letter from September 2025 in which Sir Chris Wormald told Starmer that appropriate processes were followed in Lord Mandelson's appointment.

Written evidence from the Foreign Office, in consultation with Ian Collard, was published on Monday by the Foreign Affairs Committee. Collard felt pressure to deliver a rapid outcome on Mandelson's vetting clearance due to regular contact from No10, though he did not personally speak to colleagues in No10 and does not assess that the pressure influenced the professional judgement reached by himself or his team.

Sir Olly Robbins, the senior civil servant in the Foreign Office until sacked by Starmer, told the Foreign Affairs Committee last week that there was constant pressure over the vetting process completion, but insisted the pressure did not affect his decision to give Mandelson security clearance.

' which is everyday government pressure. A Downing Street spokesperson said the claims have no substance and the government is engaging with two parliamentary processes on Lord Mandelson’s appointment with full transparency. Badenoch argued Starmer misled Parliament multiple times and urged Labour MPs to back an inquiry.

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart said Labour MPs must put principle before party and vote to refer Starmer to the Privileges Committee. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said Starmer had misled the House of Commons more than once and compared it to Boris Johnson.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said there are lots of questions about Starmer's conduct and he would support an inquiry, but it is a huge distraction.

Dame Emily Thornberry said her committee is investigating the appointment and does not want the Privileges Committee to duplicate work at this moment, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the vote may be people trying to score points ahead of local elections.