The Conservative leader had a message for Labour MPs who want Keir Starmer to resign over the Peter Mandelson scandal.
Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch (Image: Getty)
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged Labour MPs to join forces with her to sack Sir Keir Starmer. She suggested it was unlikely to be another General Election until 2029, which would mean Labour stays in power. But she offered to help Labour remove Keir Starmer and put another Prime Minister in No 10, as fury continued to grow over the Peter Mandelson scandal.
Speaking in Westminster, she said Keir Starmer will “have to be dragged out of No 10”. But she said Labour MPs “looked sick” during questions to the Prime Minister in Parliament on Wednesday, when Sir Keir admitted he knew Mandelson had continued his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – even when he appointed Mandelson as ambassador to the US.
And Mrs Badenoch said Labour MPs should speak to Conservative whips, saying: “Let’s talk seriously about a vote of no confidence”.
She warned: “Britain is not being governed.”
Mrs Badenoch went on to say that she did not expect an immediate General Election. However, her plan appears to mean Labour MPs and Conservatives working together to sack Sir Keir, allowing a New Labour politician to become Prime Minister.
Her speech came after Sir Keir, earlier in the same day, refused to stand down. He insisted: “I was elected in on a mandate in 2024 to change the country for the better.”
The Express has spoken to Labour MPs who Sir Keir Starmer to resign.
One moderate backbencher said: “It feels existential for Keir. I, along with many other moderates on the back benches feel that way.”
“This cannot continue.”
While a third compared the scandal to the Profumo affair.
“He is finished. This is it,” they said.
“He knew. It is absolutely disgusting. He should be ashamed of himself. It is morally reprehensible.
“I don’t know if it will be this week or next week or later, but he has to go.”
At PMQs, Sir Keir was asked by Mrs Badenoch if the official security vetting he received mentioned Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with the sex offender.
To gasps, he responded: “Yes it did.”
“As a result, various questions were put to him.”
Fury among Labour MPs over the handling of the scandal continued to mount throughout the week.
Backbenchers raged that Sir Keir appointed Mandelson to the coveted role, despite knowing about his past relationship with Epstein.
Anger also boiled over at the PM’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeny, who is understood to have been the biggest cheerleader for the appointment.
Scotland Yard has launched a full criminal investigation into claims that Mandelson leaked sensitive Government intelligence to Epstein.
The Met Police will examine whether the former Labour Cabinet minister committed misconduct in a public office by passing the information to the billionaire, who killed himself in jail in 2019.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and a team of detectives are expected to interview several politicians as part of their inquiries.
Former Labour PM Gordon Brown also sent Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley “relevant” information about his former colleague’s alleged disclosure of market-sensitive and confidential information to Epstein.
