Labour MPs are publicly and privately expressing their anger over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the US and the handling of his subsequent sacking.
Our Labour MP in West Dunbartonshire Douglas McAllister – the man who promised to cut the grass in public spaces but didn’t – had not comment to make today.
Mr McAllister and the Labour administration at the local council have nothing to say about anything to The Dumbarton Democrat, whose journalists they refuse to speak with.
We were banned by them on the trumped up charge that we interupted a council meeting, which we didn’t, as the minutes of the meeting now show.
Mandelson was dismissed over his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The men’s friendship had been known about at the time of his appointment but No 10 said new information about their relationship only came to light this week.
One Labour MP described the situation as a “shambles” and a government minister said they were “starting to wonder how sustainable it is” for Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister’s chief of staff, to stay in post.
McSweeney is increasingly being blamed for Lord Mandelson’s appointment.
Several senior Labour figures claimed McSweeney had been resisting the inevitability of Mandelson’s departure on Wednesday, with one insider describing “cold, hard fury” amongst those in Downing Street about the episode.
However, another senior No 10 source claimed this was nonsense, saying that by Wednesday afternoon McSweeney was adamant that Mandelson’s position was untenable.
A Labour MP told the BBC: “Panic has started to set in”, urging the prime minister to “get a grip” and warning that only publishing correspondence between No 10, McSweeney and Lord Mandelson before his appointment as ambassador would “put this to bed”.
Another MP said “It’s quite clear the buck should stop with him [McSweeney].
Asked if Sir Keir Starmer had confidence in McSweeney, the PM’s spokesperson said “the prime minister has confidence in his top team and they are getting on with the important work of this government.”
Some backbench Labour MPs have publicly expressed their anger. Paula Barker said: “The delay in sacking him has only served to further erode the trust and confidence in our government and politics in the round.”
Her backbench colleague, Charlotte Nichols, said Mandelson’s sacking was “not immediate enough unfortunately, as he should never have been appointed in the first place”.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, the new Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said: “In retrospect, of course, if [it] had been known at the time what is known now, the appointment wouldn’t have been made.”
He acknowledged Labour MPs will be feeling “despondent” following a chaotic week which has seen the sacking of Lord Mandelson and the resignation of Angela Rayner.
“Many of us were devastated by [deputy PM] Angela Rayner’s departure from the government last week.
“Now to have the dismissal of Peter Mandelson just the next week, I totally get it, of course Labour MPs will be despondent that in two weeks in a row we have seen significant resignations from public service.
“These are not the headlines any of us in government or in Parliament would have chosen or wanted.
“But the fact is when the evidence emerged, action had to be taken and we are looking forward, therefore, to moving on.”