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Keir Starmer under fire over ‘paedo apologist’ claim
Posted
February 13, 2026
Views
13,998
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February 13, 2026
13,998
138
39
1.26%
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31:18Now PlayingIs Downing Street running a “boys’ club”? And how did two senior Labour figures with links to convicted paedophiles pass vetting?
Keir Starmer has made it through the week, but the paedophile vetting scandal surrounding Peter Mandelson and Matthew Doyle is intensifying, raising serious questions about judgement, standards and culture at the heart of government.
In this episode of Electoral Dysfunction, Beth Rigby, Ruth Davidson and Harriet Harman talk about:
The “boys’ club” allegations inside Downing Street
Whether women are being pushed onto a political “glass cliff”
The fallout from the Peter Mandelson scandal
Fresh scrutiny over Matthew Doyle’s peerage and vetting failures
What “structural misogyny” in government actually means
Harriet Harman’s proposal for a new First Secretary of State to drive culture change
We also reveal what really happened behind the scenes in the dramatic weekend that led to Morgan McSweeney’s resignation and whether the Prime Minister is politically safe or simply buying time.
This episode dives into UK politics, Labour Party leadership, Downing Street culture, vetting failures and women in power.
A source close to the prime minister rejected suggestions of a "boys' club" in Downing Street, saying there were a number of "highly qualified and capable women that work in Number 10" including cabinet ministers and special advisers "across the whole government who are often forgotten in all of this".
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