"These latest revelations about Lord Mandelson leave many Labour figures seething with disappointment and boiling with betrayal. The gravity of what is alleged points to an emerging political scandal building to perhaps one of the biggest for a generation. Plenty knew Lord Mandelson was a big character, a risky pick, a man with a biography scattered with previous examples of departing high office under a cloud."
"The revelations of the last few days would have been significant in any context, but what has turbocharged their significance is they cannot be dismissed as historic. The investigation by the Metropolitan Police will focus principally, we expect, on allegations from more than a decade and a half ago. But what gives the row political salience now is Sir Keir Starmer's decision to send Lord Mandelson to Washington a year ago."
"I flew with the prime minister to Washington last February when he headed to the White House to meet President Trump for the first time since his election victory. Shortly after we landed, in the early hours UK time but still mid-evening in Washington, we headed to the British Embassy. In a packed ballroom, full of supporters of Donald Trump and members of his administration, Sir Keir cracked a gag at his newly-arrived ambassador's expense, which was both well written and well delivered."
Revelations about Lord Mandelson have provoked anger and a sense of betrayal across Labour, suggesting an emerging political scandal of potentially generational significance. Mandelson's career contains multiple departures from office amid controversy, and he was dismissed last year months into his role as the UK's ambassador to the United States. The Metropolitan Police will investigate allegations dating back more than fifteen years, but the controversy gained urgent political force because Sir Keir Starmer appointed Mandelson ambassador a year ago. The prime minister publicly positioned Mandelson as the person to manage the fraught relationship with President Trump, but recent disclosures have prompted questions about vetting and judgement.
Read at www.bbc.com
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