Judgment day as Starmer faces Commons showdown over Mandelson scandal
Keir Starmer will deliver a high-stakes statement to MPs on Monday as he struggles to overcome fears inside his government that the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal could yet cost him his leadership.In what is set to be a dramatic showdown, the prime minister will set out how Mandelson was able to take up his role as UK ambassador without the Foreign Office revealing it had overruled the decision to fail his vetting.The scandal, first revealed by the Guardian last week, has already led to the sacking of the top civil servant at the Foreign Office, Olly Robbins, who is expected to appear before MPs on Tuesday in what could be another moment of grave peril for Starmer.Ministers spent the weekend trying to shore up Starmer’s position after opposition party leaders called for him to quit over the affair, arguing he would not have gone ahead with sending Mandelson to Washington had he known.But senior government figures are concerned that this week could be make-or-break for the prime minister – despite him being bolstered by his handling of the Iran crisis – if more damaging information should emerge or if sceptical Labour MPs should finally lose faith.
“We just don’t know how it will all play out, but all roads lead back to the original sin: Keir’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson to Washington even though everybody knew it was high risk.This week could go either way,” one said.Starmer said on Sunday he would make it “crystal clear” to MPs he had been in the dark over Mandelson’s vetting – and said it was “unforgivable” the Foreign Office failed to tell him after he had told MPs due process had been followed.The prime minister will set out the facts on Mandelson’s security vetting after he instructed officials to urgently establish them when he was finally informed about the decision last Tuesday.Downing Street also sought to demolish the argument from Robbins’s allies that he was prevented by law from telling ministers that Mandelson had failed vetting, arguing that there was a difference between being involved in the decision and being informed about it.
It published an explanatory document which said: “No law stops civil servants sensibly flagging UK security vetting recommendations, while rightly protecting detailed sensitive vetting information, to allow ministers to make judgments on appointments or on explaining matters to parliament,”At the same time, Starmer told the Daily Mirror: “The fact that I wasn’t told that Peter Mandelson had failed his security vetting when he was appointed is astonishing,“The fact that I wasn’t told when I said to parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable, and that’s why I intend to set out in parliament on Monday the facts behind that, so there’s full transparency in relation to it,“But am I furious that I wasn’t told? Yes, I am,Am I furious that other ministers weren’t told? Yes, I am.
I should have been told, and I wasn’t told.”Robbins, meanwhile, is understood to be taking legal advice after being sacked as head of the Foreign Office, and ahead of answering questions from the foreign affairs select committee on the scandal on Tuesday.The former top civil servant is understood to feel angry at what he believes to be his unfair treatment by the prime minister, and determined to put his side of the story, after his dismissal sent a chill through Whitehall.David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, told the Guardian that voters wanted stability, not “a self-flagellating, internally focused” governing party.There has been frequent speculation that a leadership contest may ensue after what are expected to be brutal local and devolved elections for Labour on 7 May.
However, in recent weeks, Labour MPs appeared to have stepped back,“In the middle of 2026, with a serious global crisis affecting prices and affordability, the idea of jettisoning one leader because of a bad set of local results, it is just pie in the sky, if you think the electorate are going to thank us for that,” Lammy said,“What will happen if we were to do that is that, very quickly, people would call for a general election,And I’m not sure that this is the moment to have one,”Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, insisted Starmer had not gambled with national security by appointing Mandelson, as the government tried to limit fallout from the scandal.
Asked why he was not losing his job over the scandal, as a growing list of civil servants have done, she said it was because Starmer, “on the big calls facing this country, has made the right calls”, including on global issues.
Raducanu withdraws from Madrid Open as illness absence nears two months
Emma Raducanu will extend her absence from the WTA Tour because of a viral illness to two months after she withdrew from the coming week’s Madrid Open.Raducanu has not competed since a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Amanda Anisimova in the second round of the Indian Wells Open on 8 March. She briefly trained on-site at the Miami Open just over a week later before citing lingering symptoms from an earlier viral illness as the reason for her withdrawal. Raducanu had been affected by a viral illness during the Middle East swing in February, which she said had contributed to her poor performances on the court.In the aftermath of her withdrawal from the Miami Open, Raducanu took a considerable amount of time off from training
Humanoid robots show rapid advances as they race past humans in Beijing half marathon
They can already carry the shopping, cook and clean. Now they can run and win half marathons.In perhaps the most unusual spectacle ever seen at the end of the 13.1-mile (21.1km) race, robots flew over the finish line ahead of the humans for the first time in Beijing on Sunday
‘Last year is over’: Oklahoma City launch title defense as NBA’s parity era faces test
The league hasn’t had a repeat champion since the 2017-18 Warriors. The level-headed, consistent Thunder may be the ones to change thatThe NBA has not seen a reigning champion take its title defense as far as the conference finals, let alone hoist a second consecutive Larry O’Brien trophy, since the Golden State Warriors were cut off at the ankle and calf by the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Finals. That’s seven straight seasons in which parity has ruled supreme, for better or for worse, and dynastic runs seem fated to be a thing of the past.Not if one team in America’s heartland has anything to say about it. The Oklahoma City Thunder embark on these 2026 playoffs in search of historic greatness, trends be damned
The Crucible holds tribute to former player and commentator John Virgo
A minute’s applause was paid in tribute to John Virgo, who died in February aged 79, as the World Snooker Championship got under way at the Crucible in Sheffield.Virgo, who won the UK Championship in 1979, enjoyed a successful playing career but was best known for his broadcasting. During his 18 years as a professional, he reached the World Championship semi-finals in 1979. He went on to work for the BBC in 1994 and his voice became a distinctive feature of the national broadcaster’s snooker coverage for three decades.This article includes content hosted on embed
‘That’s a guppy’: Baumgardner swats aside Britain’s Dubois as feud escalates
A dismissive Alycia Baumgardner said Britain’s Caroline Dubois still has more to prove before the American will entertain a fight between the two unified champions.That was the curt assessment from Baumgardner early Saturday morning after she retained her WBA, WBO and IBF junior lightweight world titles with a controlled, at times punishing display across 10 three-minute rounds against Bo Mi Re Shin in a main event that started well past midnight at Madison Square Garden.“Like I said, I’m a piranha,” said Baumgardner, a world champion at 130lb since 2021. “That’s a guppy. Get her out of here
AFC Bournemouth’s owner Bill Foley behind US takeover of Exeter Chiefs
Bill Foley, owner of AFC Bournemouth, is poised to take control of Exeter Chiefs in a multimillion-pound deal that will bring Premier League and Hollywood glamour to English club rugby.The Guardian revealed this week that Exeter’s chair, Tony Rowe, had agreed to sell the club to a wealthy American investor, and can now disclose the club’s new owner will be Foley’s multisport investment company, Black Knight Sports and Entertainment.The Black Knight Football Club that owns Bournemouth includes the Hollywood actor Michael B Jordan, who won this year’s best actor Oscar for his role in Sinners, as a minority shareholder.Foley’s investment vehicle, Cannae Holdings, provides most of the multi-club group’s funding, however, and is understood to be behind the bid for Exeter. Cannae’s chief executive, Ryan Caswell, was captured by TNT Sport’s cameras sitting next to Rowe at Sandy Park during Saturday’s 35-28 home defeat by Northampton
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