HIGHLIGHTS: MPs tear into Starmer during Mandelson-Epstein debate

This supercut captures the most dramatic moments from the emergency debate on Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US, and how such an appointment could have taken place given his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

The Commons was heated as MPs from across the political spectrum lined up to both condemn Mandelson’s appointment and demand accountability from Keir Starmer over it.

Stephen Flynn of the SNP delivered a searing indictment of the Prime Minister, accusing him of knowingly appointing a man compromised by his relationship with Epstein. Flynn branded it “a complete disgrace” that Britain’s top diplomat in Washington could have been so entangled with a convicted paedophile.

Conservative MP Alec Shelbrooke tore into the government’s defence, drawing parallels with Boris Johnson’s collapse over the Chris Pincher scandal. He demanded to know when Starmer knew about Mandelson’s connections, and whether he misled the House in insisting he had “full confidence” only days earlier.

Veteran Tory Edward Leigh, the Father of the House, dismissed Labour’s excuses with scathing humour, accusing backbenchers of doing “the whips’ dirty work” and warning that MPs who defend the indefensible will only tarnish themselves.

The one man defending the Prime Minister was John Slinger, who attempted to frame Mandelson’s removal as proof that Starmer holds officials to “higher standards.”

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