More questions raised about Keir Starmer's judgment - but damage is already done

Former Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and ex-Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Philip Barton were grilled over four hours at the Foreign Affairs Committee.

There were no huge revelations but it continued to point out just how bad a blunder appointing Lord Mandelson was.

MPs went on to pull Starmer back from the edge, for now, of the scandal that has threatened to engulf him and voted against referring the prime minister to the Privileges Committee over statements he made to parliament over Lord Mandelson’s appointment as the UK ambassador to the US.

MPs voted 335 to 223 against sending Sir Keir to committee, with Brian Leishman the only Scottish Labour MP to go against party lines.

For Kemi Badenoch, MPs will ‘rue the day’ they voted against her motion.

For Mr McSweeney, there was also a sense that the spectre of Lord Mandelson and the associated scandal will continue to loom large.

Mr McSweeney - who pushed for the Prince of Darkness to get the job - said he made a “serious mistake” in recommending him and that it would haunt him “for the rest of my life”. Never have truer words been said.

He said he had thought Lord Mandelson was only a “passing acquaintance” of Jeffrey Epstein and that it was like “a knife through my soul” when he found out they had been closer.

Mr McSweeney - husband of Scots Labour MP Imogen Walker - also denied Lord Mandelson was “some hero I was trying to get a job for.” He added: “I thought he had the skills to get the trade deal.”

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Mr McSweeney also denied exerting “improper” pressure on the Foreign Office or swearing at its chief to speed up the appointment of Lord

But the Irishman did not shift the blame away from the PM.

He said: “It wasn’t my decision. It was the Prime Minister’s decision.”

Sir Philip Barton - who was in charge of the diplomatic service and was in charge of all ambassadors - appeared at the committee before Mr McSweeney.

He refused to say that with the PM’s claim that “full due process” was followed in the appointment.

Sir Phillip said there was an “uninterested” attitude towards getting Lord Mandelson high-level security clearance for the role.

And he suggested there was pressure to “get on with” approving the peer for developed vetting.

Asked directly whether he agreed that full due process had been followed, Sir Phillip paused before telling the committee “I’m going to dodge”. He said it was for MPs to form a view on that.

But he told MPs the “normal order” for ambassadorial appointments was for vetting to be completed before an announcement, contradicting claims by the Government.

Like McSweeney’s testimony, it did not move the dial much.

But both sessions confirmed what the public already knew: the PM’s judgment is flawed and that his gamble on Lord Mandelson didn’t pay off.

The move seemed quite out of character for someone who has been so cautious since taking over the Labour Party.

It was celebrated by many politicians and political commentators as a masterstroke.

But not many were surprised when it blew up in his face.

Labour MPs are annoyed about the way the whole scandal has played out.

They know that this whole debacle could be the deciding factor in them losing their seats come 2029.

It will also contribute to Scottish Labour missing its best chance in years to oust the SNP, and Welsh Labour losing control of the Senedd for the first time.

Despite this - and many of them knowing the PM’s time in office is limited - the bulk of Labour MPs decided against voting to refer to Sir Keir to the Privileges Committee over misleading the house.

They may want to change leader, but they believe that voting for this would be falling for was a partisan ploy by the Tories and SNP ahead of next week’s elections.

Some Scots Labour MPs have suggested that the Nationalists working with the Conservatives to oust the Prime Minister is coming up on the doors and boosting Labour’s chances.

The SNP should be cautious about siding with the Conservatives - something Labour figures know too well from the Better Together days.

Labour’s decision to campaign with the Conservatives in the 2014 independence referendum marked the end of its dominance north of the border and cemented the SNP as the most popular political party in Scotland for over a decade.

The SNP should also know from their own past that working with the Conservatives is inadvisable.

They helped the Tories oust Jim Callaghan and usher in Margaret Thatcher in 1979. They lost nine seats and 13 per cent of the vote at the general election.

There is little prospect of a general election soon - but the SNP should be careful about the public perception of working with the Tories.

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Sir Keir’s decision to appoint Lord Mandelson has proven to be a real error of judgment and it has plagued his time in office. This scandal could still yet be the decisive factor which topples him.

The public were already unhappy with the PM before this scandal, but the whole debacle has confirmed their beliefs.

Sir Keir has feigned outrage over Lord Mandelson “lying” to him and not being told that he failed vetting.

But anyone with half a brain could have told you that appointing the pal of the world’s most notorious paedophile as US ambassador would likely backfire - regardless of what Lord Mandelson said about the extent of their relationship.

The PM has been trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes - but they can see right through it.

For ambitious Labour MPs, next week’s elections present an opportunity to take the reins.

If Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting have their act together, they could boot Sir Keir out of office.

They may never get a better opportunity to enter No10.