Senior Labour figures say call for new Mandelson investigation is a ‘political stunt’
A series of senior Labour figures have dismissed calls for a new investigation into what Keir Starmer told MPs about the appointment of Peter Mandelson as political point scoring, before a possible Commons vote on the issue.The Conservatives have called for the cross-party privileges committee, the remit of which includes examining whether MPs broke rules, to look at whether the prime minister misled parliament when he said normal procedures were followed with Mandelson’s appointment.The privileges committee previously examined Boris Johnson’s behaviour around lockdown-breaking Downing Street parties during Covid, finding he deliberately misled parliament in saying no rules had been breached.The foreign affairs committee has already begun an inquiry into Mandelson’s appointment.Downing Street says the evidence it has heard so far, including from senior civil servants, has shown Starmer told the truth.
Before an expected attempt by the Conservatives on Monday to push for a Commons vote on a new inquiry, the former cabinet ministers Alan Johnson and David Blunkett released a joint statement calling the move a “nakedly political stunt with no substance”, calling any comparison to Johnson “absurd”,“When parliament referred that matter to the privileges committee, a police investigation had directly disproved his categoric statements that he knew nothing about the breach of lockdown rules including parties in Downing Street, and therefore he had a case to answer for knowingly misleading the House of Commons,” they said,Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP who chairs the foreign affairs committee, said she could not see the need for a second inquiry while the one she is leading was still taking place,“It may be that at some stage in the future some of the questions haven’t been answered and it is decided that they are of sufficient importance that the privileges committee should be involved,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme,Thornbery said she did not see the need for it before that stage had been reached “apart from potentially people trying to score points in advance of the local elections”.
Her committee heard last week from Olly Robbins, the former head civil servant at the Foreign Office who was removed by Starmer for failing to tell No 10 that Mandelson had initially failed security vetting, and Cat Little, the lead official at the Cabinet Office,On Tuesday, it will take evidence from Philip Barton, Robbins’ predecessor at the Foreign Office, and Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s former chief of staff, who is close to Mandelson and identified as someone likely to have pushed for his appointment,It will be up to the Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, to decide whether to allow a vote on referring the matter to the privileges committee,If there is a vote, there is speculation that Labour may whip its MPs to oppose the idea,Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, who was sent out for broadcast interviews on Monday morning, declined to say how Labour MPs might be told to vote.
She called the proposed vote “silly political games” by the Conservatives,“Ten days ago, we had Kemi Badenoch and other members of the opposition saying that the prime minister deliberately misled parliament,” Reynolds said,“He didn’t, and that was categorically proven last week [in the evidence of Robbins and Little], and they have accepted that,He has not lied to parliament,“So I do think that the opposition – guess what, 10 days out from local elections and important elections in Scotland and Wales – are playing silly political games when we should be talking about the big issues at stake in the country here.
”
Mickey Arthur drafted into new coaches panel to mend England’s ties with county cricket
Mickey Arthur, the former South Africa and Pakistan head coach, is one of four appointments to England’s new County Insight Group as the national team seeks to repair relations with the domestic game after last winter’s Ashes defeat.Among the recommendations from the internal Ashes review that led to Rob Key and Brendon McCullum remaining as director of cricket and men’s head coach respectively was improved dialogue with the county game, not least regarding selection.The sense previously was that England were not interested in the views of those on the shop floor. Paul Farbrace, head coach at Sussex, had summed up the mood as: “There has almost been a feeling in county cricket that: ‘We’re not bothered whether England are doing well or not,’ and that saddens me.”To that end Key has appointed four county head coaches – Arthur, Richard Dawson, Alan Richardson and Anthony McGrath – to sit on a new panel that will meet the England hierarchy three or four times a season
How sport can spread the word about the climate emergency
Athletes are helping to promote a new film about the crisis, reaching people ‘in a way that scientific reports never will’It wasn’t so long ago that UK government briefings from Downing Street were essential viewing. Professors Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance were household names in Britain and there was a roaring trade in “next slide please” mugs. Four years after the final Covid lectern was put away comes an attempt to alert the public to another emergency – the climate and nature emergency. And sport could be the secret weapon in spreading the word.The National Emergency Briefing was held in London last November, in front of over 1,000 guests including MPs
NFL draft 2026 winners and losers: Eagles’ aces, Rams’ damage control and a missing coach
It can take years to properly evaluate if a prospect works out. But here are a few early takes on the ups and downs from this year’s selection processGrading a draft immediately after it happens is an interesting concept – a bit like giving out marks for a meal in a restaurant right after you order. But the NFL Draft Industrial Complex will not rest until verdicts are handed out, so here we are.So, with the standard disclaimer that we won’t know for years just how these moves turn out – who had the last pick of the 2022 draft leading his team to a Super Bowl appearance? – here’s a rundown of what caught our eye over the last few days.We are not used to praising the Browns this time of year – there are reasons that this was the franchise immortalized in the legendarily awful Draft Day movie
Ireland revenge mission falls flat amid flurry of squandered chances but England march on | Sarah Rendell
Ireland sent out mixed messages from their camp before their game with France on Saturday: was this a revenge mission for their Rugby World Cup quarter-final exit or not? The head coach, Scott Bemand, had denied it but the captain, Erin King, admitted the World Cup game had added some “venom” to the encounter and the full-back Stacey Flood said France should be “worried if I was them”.The Irish team may have had the image of Axelle Berthoumieu biting Aoife Wafer, an action that was not caught during the quarter-final but the France back row was given a nine-game ban afterwards, for added motivation if any was needed. There was certainly no love lost between the teams, with the fixture full of tension, squabbles and huge hits.But Ireland missed the chance to land a vengeful blow on their rivals and the opportunity slipped through their fingers with three disallowed first-half tries and a missed penalty. The visitors’ inability to put daylight between themselves and France on the scoreboard allowed the hosts to take the game away from them in the final 25 minutes
Storm success was as certain as death and taxes. So how has it all gone wrong? | Nick Tedeschi
For over two decades, Melbourne Storm have been the standard for how an elite sporting organisation operates in Australia. Led by head coach Craig Bellamy and head of football Frank Ponissi, the Storm have known nothing but success. The only time they have missed finals under Bellamy was during a ban following the 2010 salary cap scandal. In 23 years with Bellamy in charge, the Storm have won nine minor premierships, finished in the top four 18 times and played in 11 grand finals, winning five. Success has spanned players, spanned time and spanned the changing nature of the game
London Marathon hails ‘greatest day’ as Sawe breaks two hours and records tumble
The London Marathon’s organisers have hailed the “greatest day” in the event’s 45-year history after huge crowds watched Sabastian Sawe become the first man to shatter the two-hour barrier in an official race, and a world record tally of more than 60,000 runners started the event.By 6.30pm on Sunday evening, organisers were also hopeful of breaking the record number of 59,226 finishers, set by the New York Marathon last year, although they said it could go right down to the deadline of 11:59pm.Hugh Brasher, the race director, said that an estimated 800,000 supporters had watched an epic men’s race, in which Sawe and the Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha had both run under two hours.Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Tigst Assefa set a women’s-only world record, for races involving only female pace setters, although it was five minutes behind the outright women’s world record
Cannes AI film festival raises eyebrows – and questions about future
Facing AI and a tough job market, gen Z turns to entrepreneurship: ‘I have to prove myself’
TikTok and Visa launch debit card to speed payouts to UK creators
Officials hugely underestimated impact of AI datacentres on UK carbon emissions
‘Look, no hands’: China chases the driverless dream at Beijing car show
What is a passkey, how does it work and why is it better than a password?