Archiv: Downing Street No 10


21.04.2026 - 22:18 [ Spectator.com ]

When Mandelson could bring down Starmer

(March 14, 2026)

As my big piece on Starmer last month revealed, even after Mandelson was appointed, Starmer never quizzed him about how to deal with Trump. All this exposes a Prime Minister with Olympic levels of detachment. It has been known for a while that he has little interest in politics but those who have worked with him have been genuinely surprised at his lack of interest in the detail of governing.

(…)

The book also reveals that the decision to sack Mandelson was taken by McSweeney, not Starmer. On the day the PM defended Mandelson in the Commons, McSweeney was in a secure basement conference room without his phone when two of Starmer’s closest aides – Paul Ovenden and Stuart Ingham – came to find him. Ingham told him: ‘We just can’t answer these questions.’

McSweeney’s response – ‘It’s unsustainable’ – was the moment the decision was effectively made.

21.04.2026 - 21:57 [ PoliticsHome.com ]

Oiling the machine – inside the Number 10 policy unit

(November 20, 2024)

Though it has grown over the past fifty years, the Policy Unit today still comprises fewer than thirty special advisers and junior Whitehall officials. This little platoon tends to be most effective when it acts as both the prime minister’s “eyes and ears”, to borrow Wilson’s phrase, and what Sarah Hogg, John Major’s policy chief, termed “the grit and oil in the government machine.” In other words, the Policy Unit works best by offering the prime minister unvarnished intelligence and advice about the direction of departmental policy, while giving Whitehall strategic clarity about what the prime minister wants or doesn’t want.

21.04.2026 - 21:53 [ theNational.scot ]

No 10 bid for SECOND paedo-linked Labour ally to get ambassador role

He was later pushed on who had ordered him to look into getting Doyle a position, and who had ordered him not to tell the foreign secretary (which at the time was David Lammy).

Robbins said: “I don‘t know what the origin of the suggestion was, and I don‘t know who exactly was behind it or how serious it was.

“It was serious enough for the No 10 private office to ring up the head of the diplomatic service and ask for a forward look of available head of mission jobs, and that‘s the point at which I thought that I needed to lay down some markers.”

21.04.2026 - 21:30 [ theGuardian.com ]

Olly Robbins: I was asked to find job for Starmer aide and not tell David Lammy

Testifying to MPs at parliament’s foreign affairs select committee on Tuesday, Olly Robbins said he had several conversations with No 10 about finding a role for Matthew Doyle, who was later suspended as a Labour peer after it emerged he had campaigned for a friend charged with possessing indecent images of children.

Robbins said he had been asked not to mention the idea to David Lammy, who was foreign secretary at the time.

Robbins described the conversations as part of more general pressure from people at the top of the government to place senior political figures in senior diplomatic posts.

21.04.2026 - 15:35 [ Independent.co.uk ]

Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson: Who are Starmer’s new joint chiefs of staff?

(February 8, 2026)

With Morgan McSweeney’s enforced departure over the Mandelson scandal, his former deputies Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson have both been promoted to replace him as joints chiefs of staff

21.04.2026 - 15:27 [ theGuardian.com ]

Olly Robbins says he faced ‘constant pressure’ to get Mandelson in post

Asked who in No 10 had applied pressure, he said it was mainly the prime minister’s private office, which is staffed by civil servants. But he added: “I think that the private office would only have been [putting on] this pressure themselves if they were under pressure.”

21.04.2026 - 14:54 [ New York Times ]

Fired U.K. Official Describes ‘Pressure’ From Starmer’s Office for Envoy’s Appointment

The former top civil servant in Britain’s foreign office, who was fired by Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week, said on Tuesday that Mr. Starmer’s office had a “dismissive attitude” about the security vetting of Peter Mandelson, an associate of Jeffrey Epstein who became ambassador to the United States despite concerns raised during the vetting process.

The former civil servant, Olly Robbins, testified in Parliament that he and other officials in charge of deciding whether to grant Mr. Mandelson a high-level security clearance were working in “an atmosphere of pressure” to ensure that nothing got in the way of Mr. Mandelson’s appointment.

17.04.2026 - 20:56 [ theGuardian.com ]

After the latest Mandelson revelations, Starmer needs to get a good lawyer. Wasn’t he supposed to be one?

During the opposition years, his defenders countered that a stolid technocrat was exactly what the country needed. They sold the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service as the polar opposite of Boris Johnson, who was driven from Downing Street in part by Starmer’s own forensic questioning. If only Starmer had lived up to the billing of his detractors, reluctantly conceded by his allies, he wouldn’t be in the hole he finds himself this weekend.

Instead, he now has to rely on a defence that is lawyerly in the worst sense of that word. To have knowingly misled parliament is, in political terms, a capital crime. So the PM has to proceed on two tracks, one for “knowingly” the other for “misled”.

17.04.2026 - 20:38 [ BBC ]

Starmer sacks top Foreign Office official after Mandelson vetting revelations

The BBC understands Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper lost confidence in Sir Olly Robbins and was effectively sacked after a Guardian investigation revealed Mandelson had not been security cleared.

The PM is facing calls to resign amid claims he misled MPs when he told them „full due process“ had been followed.

Senior minister Darren Jones said Sir Keir had not been told of the vetting recommendation until Tuesday this week, had not misled MPs and would not be resigning.

17.04.2026 - 20:21 [ UnioneSarda.it ]

Epstein-Fall, neue hochrangige RĂŒcktritte in England. Starmer unter Druck: „Er sollte zurĂŒcktreten.“

(April 16, 2026)

„Es ist unverzeihlich, dass kein Minister, nicht einmal Downing Street, informiert wurde“, kommentierte Premierminister Keir Starmer. Doch Starmer selbst geriet ins Visier der Opposition, die seinen RĂŒcktritt fordert. Der Chef von Downing Street scheint jedoch nicht zurĂŒcktreten zu wollen. „Er wird nicht zurĂŒcktreten“, versicherte Starmers engster Vertrauter, Darren Jones.

17.04.2026 - 20:13 [ theGuardian.com ]

Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision

(Thu 16 Apr 2026 19.16 CEST)

In September, in a letter co-signed with foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, Robbins told MPs that “conducted to the usual standard set for developed vetting.

The Guardian understands that Robbins was told he had to resign after Starmer and Cooper lost confidence in the civil servant.

Mandelson’s failure to secure vetting approval has not previously been publicly revealed, despite intense scrutiny over his appointment and the release by the government of 147 pages of documents supposed to shed light on the case.

14.02.2026 - 03:20 [ BBC ]

Palestine Action ban ruled unlawful but group remains proscribed for now

The proscription made membership of or support for Palestine Action illegal, and more than 2,000 people have been arrested at demonstrations in the months since it came into force.

Some 694 of the protesters have been charged with allegedly showing support for the group, which can lead to up to six months in jail.

14.02.2026 - 03:17 [ theGuardian.com ]

UK Palestine Action ban ruled unlawful, in humiliating blow for ministers

(February 13, 2026)

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, was urged to respect the court’s decision after the three judges said the ban, introduced by her predecessor Yvette Cooper, impinged on the right to protest and should be quashed.

However, the fate of more than 2,500 people, arrested for supporting Palestine Action since proscription, remained uncertain after Mahmood said she would appeal against the ban.

Additionally, the three judges, led by the president of the king’s bench division, Dame Victoria Sharp, said the banning order would not be quashed until both sides had been allowed to make representations.

10.02.2026 - 18:16 [ BBC ]

Chris Mason: Labour sticks with Starmer for now but this is not over

If Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar‘s desire to dislodge Sir Keir Starmer had had public accomplices, that could have been it.

There was a crucial pivot point on Monday afternoon when things could have gone in one of two ways.

If others had said Sir Keir should go, he might not have got to the end of the day without announcing his departure.

But instead, there was a rallying of support from the cabinet and from various wings of the Labour Party.

10.02.2026 - 08:22 [ theIndependent.co.uk ]

Starmer latest: Streeting accused of orchestrating No 10 coup as embattled PM vows to fight on

Wes Streeting has been accused of orchestrating a coup against Sir Keir Starmer after claims emerged he talked to Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar two days before Mr Sarwar called on the prime minister to resign.

Sources said the pair are thought to have discussed the current political situation in the Labour party, with many blaming the health secretary for Mr Sarwar’s intervention, according to the Telegraph.

10.02.2026 - 08:17 [ Sky News ]

Streeting shares his Mandelson texts with Sky News

The health secretary said he was sharing the messages with Sky News because of an attempt to „smear“ him over the weekend by suggestions he was „close friends“ with Lord Mandelson.

Mr Streeting has long been seen as on leadership manoeuvres and may otherwise be thought to be a potential beneficiary if Sir Keir were to resign as prime minister.

09.02.2026 - 18:46 [ New York Times ]

Starmer’s Communications Chief Quits, Adding to British Leader’s Woes

The director of communications for Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain resigned on Monday, adding to a sense of crisis for the government and growing questions about Mr. Starmer’s leadership.

The communications director, Tim Allan, a veteran political operative who only joined Mr. Starmer’s government about five months ago, quit less than 24 hours after Morgan McSweeney stepped down as the prime minister’s chief of staff over ties between Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, and Britain’s former ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson.

09.02.2026 - 18:38 [ EastLothianCourier.com ]

Anas Sarwar calls for Keir Starmer to quit as Prime Minister

The Scottish Labour leader made the intervention in a press conference in Glasgow this afternoon as he attacked the „failures“ in Downing Street in the wake of revelations surrounding Peter Mandelson‘s links to Jeffrey Epstein and fears over damage the scandal may do to his party‘s chances at the Holyrood elections in May.

He told reporters his first priority is to Scotland and that he did not want to “sacrifice” the country to a third decade of an SNP government.

09.02.2026 - 18:35 [ theNational.scot ]

Inside Scottish Labour as MPs fear Mandelson impact on Holyrood vote

(February 6, 2026)

Now attention is turning to the ramifications of the scandal in Scotland ahead of the Holyrood election in May.

Anas Sarwar could prove another casualty of the spectacular fallout from the collapse of Lord Mandelson’s reputation.

Lord Mandelson’s continued friendship with Epstein has been public knowledge since the Financial Times reported in 2023 that the peer stayed at the convicted paedophile’s home in Manhattan in 2009, while he was in prison for child sex offences.

08.02.2026 - 18:05 [ Jacobin ]

Britain’s Rulers Have Been Partners in the Gaza Genocide

Tory and Labour governments in Britain have provided every conceivable form of support for Israel’s genocidal project in Gaza. Peter Oborne, an independent-minded conservative journalist, has now provided us with a definitive record of their complicity.

08.02.2026 - 18:03 [ ORbooks.com ]

Complicit: Britain’s Role in the Destruction of Gaza

Fearless and forensic, this incendiary indictment from one of Britain’s most celebrated political journalists lays bare the full extent of British complicity in the destruction of Gaza.

In a gripping narrative informed by original reporting, Peter Oborne tells how Britain’s Conservative and Labour parties converged to back Israel’s criminal assault—in the process occupying disturbing common ground with the far right.

Rather than challenge this political cartel, British media colluded in its misrepresentations. The shocking result was that, as British authorities helped Israel set Gaza as well as international law aflame, almost everything the public was told about this momentous conflagration was untrue.

When citizens still turned out in their hundreds of thousands to demand a ceasefire, roiling the nation’s politics as they stayed faithful to the ancient British tradition of popular protest in defence of liberty, the political-media machine bared its fangs. The investigative reporting in this book exposes the methods by which peaceful demonstrations were smeared as “hate marches”.

Formerly chief political commentator at the Daily Telegraph and Spectator, Oborne knows the British establishment from within. In this book he names names and provides receipts. His demand is accountability—for atrocities, and their accomplices.

08.02.2026 - 17:17 [ Times of India ]

UK PM Keir Starmer’s chief of staff quits over appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite Epstein ties

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned on Sunday after taking responsibility for advising the prime minister to appoint Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the United States, despite Mandelson’s past links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

05.02.2026 - 20:05 [ CNN ]

The Epstein storm could topple a world leader — but it’s not Trump

His premiership hung by a thread Thursday after a revolt by MPs in his Labour Party further damaged a 10 Downing Street operation staggering from crisis to crisis.

Starmer tried to clarify his earlier statement in parliament on Wednesday that he knew about the friendship between former Cabinet minister Peter Mandelson and Epstein — but still made him ambassador to Washington.

04.02.2026 - 22:18 [ ABC News ]

UK will release files related to Mandelson‘s appointment in more Epstein fallout

The move came after the opposition Conservative Party said it would force a vote in Parliament on Wednesday calling for the release of emails and other messages related to Mandelson’s appointment in 2024. Critics say he should never have been given the job because his relationship with Epstein – though not its extent – was known at the time.

The government has agreed to release the requested information unless it is ”prejudicial to U.K. national security or international relations.” It’s unclear how much material will be released, or when.

29.01.2026 - 20:10 [ theGuardian.com ]

Curveball: How US was duped by Iraqi fantasist looking to topple Saddam

(15 Feb 2011)

Since the fall of Baghdad, Curveball‘s identity had been sought throughout Iraq and Europe. He was finally outed in late 2007 as the main source for Powell‘s speech, but has tried to keep a low profile ever since, refusing — under the orders of the BND — the approaches of the few reporters who had tracked him downto Karlsruhe.

The only other time Curveball has agreed to be interviewed was in late 2007, when he told CNN that he had been set up as a fall guy by the BND and had never breathed a word to them about WMD.

29.01.2026 - 19:59 [ Welt.de ]

Der Fall „Curveball“: Wie ein BND-Informant den Irak-Krieg auslöste

(28.8.2011)

Diese bis heute verbreitete Darstellung ist unangenehm fĂŒr die Bundesrepublik. Deutschland steht da als ein Land, das ein Doppelspiel betrieben hat: nach außen den Pazifisten geben – und hintenherum ĂŒber seinen Geheimdienst einen entscheidenden Grund fĂŒr die militĂ€rische Intervention liefern. Der Bundesnachrichtendienst nahm die VorwĂŒrfe schweigend hin.

15.01.2026 - 16:37 [ Politico.eu ]

Greenland takes pleas to UK parliament

(January 13, 2026)

Greenland’s energy minister asked British lawmakers for help in the face of “bewildering” U.S. aggression.

LONDON — The U.K. government must “dare to have principles” and help Greenland repel threats from Donald Trump, a senior minister in Greenland’s government told lawmakers in London.

28.12.2025 - 12:30 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ]

UN experts urge UK to protect lives and rights of pro-Palestinian detainees on hunger strike

The experts have also expressed serious concern as to the overbreadth of the definition of terrorism under UK law, the proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000, and the subsequent mass arrests and criminal charges, including terrorism-related offenses, brought against individuals for alleged support for Palestine Action.

“These hunger strikes must be understood within the broader context of restrictions on pro-Palestinian activism in the UK,” the experts said, noting that the detainees are held in connection with protest-related activity.

They urged the United Kingdom to immediately guarantee appropriate healthcare for all hunger strikers, and engage in meaningful dialogue and action to address not only the claims of the protestors, but also underlying rights violations, and an end to the repression of Palestine activism.

“Preventable deaths in custody are never acceptable. The State bears full responsibility for the lives and wellbeing of those it detains,” the experts said. “Urgent action is required now.”

The experts stand ready to engage constructively with the UK Government and will continue to monitor the situation closely.

*The experts:

– Gina Romero, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association

– Tlaleng Mofokeng, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health

– Cecilia M. Bailliet, the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity

– George Katrougalos, the Independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order

– Ben Saul, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism

– Irene Khan, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

– Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967

28.12.2025 - 12:12 [ ForcesNews.com ]

Former Army officers urge Prime Minister to halt arms sales to Israel

(December 24, 2025)

A group of four former senior Army officers have written a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling for a full arms embargo on Israel.

In the letter, seen by the Times, Brigadier John Deverell, Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Graham, Major General Peter Currie and Major General Charlie Herbert say there is clear evidence that the IDF is committing war crimes and the UK risks being complicit if they cooperate.

They are also urging Sir Keir to ban any involvement with Israeli defence companies.

02.12.2025 - 21:44 [ Middle East Eye ]

UK government lawyers use ‚secret evidence‘ to justify ban on Palestine Action

A portion of Tuesday’s hearing was held in closed session to allow the government to present material it says cannot be disclosed on national security grounds.

During these closed proceedings, known as closed material procedures (CMP), Ammori and her legal team replaced by a special advocate appointed by Ammori.

However, the special advocate is not permitted to share the government’s submissions with Ammori or her lawyers.

It means that if Ammori loses her case based on the secret evidence, neither she nor her team will know what the government argued against her or Palestine Action.

12.11.2025 - 19:54 [ Colombia News ]

Colombia suspends intelligence sharing with US over strikes on Caribbean boats

President Gustavo Petro ordered Colombia’s intelligence agencies to stop sharing information on drug trafficking with their United States counterparts until US President Donald Trump stops ordering strikes on boats in the Caribbean.

Petro announced the order on Twitter after US television network CNN reported that the United Kingdom suspended intelligence sharing over the strikes that have killed at least 67 people since early September.

11.11.2025 - 23:52 [ CNC3.co.tt ]

UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break

The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

The UK’s decision marks a significant break from its closest ally and intelligence sharing partner and underscores the growing skepticism over the legality of the US military’s campaign around Latin America.

03.11.2025 - 19:53 [ theIndependent.co.uk ]

Wife of British journalist arrested by ICE fears for his health after ‘medical emergency’ in custody

Sami Hamdi was arrested by agents at San Francisco International Airport on October 26 as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown. Mr Hamdi, a 35-year-old father of three and an outspoken critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, was on a speaking tour of the US when he was held.

His wife, Soumaya Hamdi, told The Independent Monday that her husband’s health had deteriorated while in detention.

18.10.2025 - 18:59 [ theStandard.com.hk ]

UK sees lessons from Northern Ireland that could aid the fragile Gaza ceasefire process

The Irish Republican Army eventually agreed to put its arsenal “beyond use” by way of a secret process supervised by an international commission. Disarmament ran in parallel to efforts to resolve political disputes at the heart of the conflict, something that more than three decades of U.S.-led peace efforts in the Middle East have failed to accomplish.

It was slow going: The first batch of IRA weapons was decommissioned in 2001 and the last in 2005, seven years after the Good Friday Agreement. Several other British loyalist and Irish republican militant groups also disarmed as part of the process.

“The British might be able to counsel patience and pragmatism,” said Niall O Dochartaigh, a professor of political science at the University of Galway. “The IRA leadership had to be helped in various ways to make that argument (for disarmament) within the organization.

“Ultimately, decommissioning only happened in the Irish case once the IRA was satisfied that there was a political settlement bedded down,” he added.

07.10.2025 - 01:31 [ Middle East Eye ]

US and UK ‚immensely let down‘ families of detained Gaza flotilla activists

The families of British and American Global Sumud Flotilla activists illegally detained by Israel have told Middle East Eye that the US and UK governments have failed to properly represent their citizens.

Clare Azzougarh, the daughter of Malcolm Ducker, a 72-year-old British air force veteran who captained a boat on the flotilla and is being held in Ketziot prison, said her family feels “immensely let down by the British government in so many ways”.

Laura Adler, the sister of David Adler, a Jewish-American member of the flotilla and co-general coordinator of the Progressive International, told MEE the response of the US government had made her realise that “not everyone is deemed to be equally American”.

“I didn’t realise how non-responsive and passive the US government would be,” Laura Adler said.

21.09.2025 - 19:00 [ Government of the United Kingdom ]

PM statement on the recognition of Palestine: 21 September 2025

In the face of the growing horror in the Middle East


We are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a Two State Solution.

That means a safe and secure Israel


Alongside a viable Palestinian State –

At the moment, we have neither.

Ordinary people – Israeli and Palestinian


Deserve to live in peace –

To try to rebuild their lives


Free from violence and suffering.

That’s what the British people desperately want to see.