Newslinks for Friday 12th September 2025 | Conservative Home

Starmer faces MPs’ anger over Mandelson scandal, as Badenoch and Tories pile on the pressure

“Lord Mandelson admitted in his vetting interview for US ambassador that he continued his relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein for many years, allies said last night, as Sir Keir Starmer faced questions from cabinet ministers about his political judgment. The prime minister sacked Mandelson on Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after making a forthright defence of him in the Commons, after reading “reprehensible” emails in which Mandelson defended Epstein after his first child sex conviction. But Mandelson is said to feel ill-treated by Starmer’s decision. Allies said he admitted in the vetting process that he had carried on his relationship with Epstein for many years and deeply regretted doing so. There were claims on Thursday night — which were denied by officials — that the security services had raised concerns about Mandelson’s appointment at the time. Days before a state visit to Britain by Donald Trump, the scandal threatened to overshadow the prime minister’s meeting with a president who has also struggled to shake off his own links to Epstein. Administration officials are said to be perplexed by the decision. It is the second time in less than a week that Starmer has defended a senior figure in his government only for them to leave office over a scandal. Angela Rayner was forced to resign as deputy prime minister last Friday after admitting that she had failed to pay enough stamp duty. Cabinet ministers and Labour MPs raised questions about Starmer’s judgment, especially because he came into office pledging to run a more ethical government. “It was obvious from the start that he [Mandelson] was the wrong choice,” one cabinet minister said. “It was just a matter of time. It’s so damaging.” Another said it should have been “obvious” that Mandelson’s resignation was inevitable. Starmer is facing mounting scrutiny over his decision to appoint Mandelson given that there was already significant evidence in public about his connection to Epstein, including the fact he stayed at the disgraced financier’s townhouse in Manhattan while Epstein was in jail.” – The Times

• Starmer faces MPs’ fury over Mandelson scandal – Daily Telegraph
• Keir Starmer ignored string of warnings before finally sacking Mandelson: Questions grow over PM’s judgment as Labour MPs brand his handling of the episode ‘a shambles’ – Daily Mail
• Mandelson downfall puts new scrutiny on Starmer’s chief aide – Bloomberg
• No 10 appointed Mandelson despite security concerns – Sky News
• Mandelson exit plunges Starmer into crisis – as Labour anger grows – The i
• Spotlight falls on Starmer’s political judgment after Mandelson sacking – The Guardian

Comment:

• Peter Mandelson embodied this muddled project – Patrick Maguire, The Times
• The Mandelson scandal is a nightmare for Starmer’s ‘mastermind’ chief of staff – John Power, Daily Telegraph
• Kemi Badenoch has a sliver of hope – Tim Shipman, The Spectator
• Starmer’s stumbling Government may lurch on, but it is now doomed – Sherelle Jacobs, Daily Telegraph
• Why did Keir dither again over sacking Mandelson after getting it so wrong with Angela Rayner? – Jack Elsom, The Sun
• Mandelson’s sacking is personal to Trump – it spells disaster for the UK – Isabel Hardman, The i
• The Prince of Darkness? Don’t make me laugh. Why was anyone taken in by this chancer? – Richard Littlejohn, Daily Mail
• Clumsy Keir Starmer thinks he’s tough – but he’s cackhandedly created a crisis – Leo McKinstry, Daily Express

> Today: How Badenoch landed her first real punch

Oxford Union president who debated Charlie Kirk appears to celebrate shooting

“The incoming president of the Oxford Union has been accused of celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk. George Abaraonye allegedly shared comments making light of Kirk’s death shortly after he was struck in the neck by a single bullet while speaking about mass shootings at a university campus in Utah. Messages supposedly sent by Abaraonye have been shared on social media. One, said to have been sent on Whatsapp, reads: ‘Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f***ing go’. Another message, said to be posted by Abaraonye on Instagram, says: ‘Charlie Kirk got shot loool’.  The Oxford student’s Instagram account has been made private, preventing anyone from viewing his posts on the platform. It is also unclear whether the Whatsapp account that appeared to share the messages belongs to Abaraonye. Abaraonye was elected for the presidency in June and previously came head-to-head with the American conservative activist during an event at the University in May. The pair debated about the concept of ‘toxic masculinity’, during which they disagreed about the impact it posed on younger generations of men and women.  Abaraonye also served as the vice-president of the Oxford African and Caribbean Society, a role which involved him sitting ‘on the Race Equality Task force to engage in conversations on racial diversity with wider university’. Following the backlash from the supposed messages, Abaraonye released a statement saying they made in a ‘moment of shock’ and ‘did not reflect my values’.” – Daily Mail

• Charlie Kirk shooting: FBI releases video of suspect fleeing as manhunt continues – ITV News
• Trump: Charlie Kirk’s widow is ‘absolutely devastated’ – Daily Telegraph
• US Vice President JD Vance carries Charlie Kirk’s coffin off Air Force Two – Sky News
• American right vows vengeance after killing of Charlie Kirk – Financial Times
• Cops ‘identify person of interest’ after Charlie Kirk shot dead – as chilling pictures reveal ‘assassin’s sniper nest’ – The Sun
• A single lethal gunshot from 130 metres. This was ‘no amateur’ who ‘got lucky’ – Daily Telegraph

Comment:

• The Charlie Kirk I knew – Katy Balls, The Times
• Charlie Kirk’s enemies chose murder over free speech but here’s why they will never kill what he’s unleashed – Harry Cole, The Sun
• The Left is celebrating Charlie Kirk’s killing. Democracy’s foundations are crumbling – Charles Lipson, Daily Telegraph
• The death of Charlie Kirk is the opening act of an American disaster – Sarah Baxter, The i

> Yesterday: Being killed for what you think and what you say is sadly not just a problem for America

Richard Tice sets out mass deportation plans as he hails Suella Braverman’s approach

“A Reform UK government would set up an immigration “department of believers” staffed by civil servants who back Britain quitting the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the party’s deputy leader has said. Richard Tice said that if Reform were to win the next election with a mandate to leave the ECHR, the party would expect civil servants to “get stuck in or, frankly, in the nicest possible way, go and get a job somewhere else because it’s not going to end well”. He said Reform would create a department of immigration incorporating Border Force within the Home Office, staffed by people who “believe in the cause of secure borders”. “I want people who are going to enact and be completely committed to ensuring the will of the people,” he said. Mr Tice set out his party’s plans for mass deportations in an unusual joint platform appearance on Thursday with Suella Braverman, the former Tory home secretary, to promote her recent report on how the UK could quit the ECHR… Mr Tice hailed Mrs Braverman’s blueprint for leaving the ECHR as a “very serious, diligent, brilliant approach” on how to do it. Her paper proposes rewriting the Good Friday Agreement to strip out ECHR references in a way that overcomes what many critics have argued is the key impediment to leaving the convention. Their appearance together on a platform at the Prosperity Institute in London sparked fresh speculation that the former home secretary could defect to Reform. Asked if she would be a good addition to Reform, he replied: “I’m a Reformer. As I understand it, Suella is a Conservative.” And asked if he would welcome her, he said: “People who believe in our principles and values from all parties and no party are welcome. That’s why we’re soaring in the membership numbers and in the polls.” Mrs Braverman said: “I’m not defecting. I have been elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament. I’m very grateful to the people of Waterloo, thousands of them who sent me back to Parliament, and I’m sticking to my job for them.” She said that she would scrap the judicial appointments commission, which was set up in 2006 under Tony Blair.” – Daily Telegraph

• Suella Braverman issued challenge to Shabana Mahmood as she lays out ECHR exit plan with Reform UK – GB News
• Strasbourg Court delivered ‘fatal blow’ to Rwanda migrant flights says ex-Home Secretary – Daily Express
• Reform wants to scrap neutral civil service and hire anti-ECHR staff – The Times
• Suella Braverman ‘ashamed’ to have Keir Starmer as PM after Lord Mandelson scandal – GB News
• Suella: I Am Not Defecting to Reform – Guido Fawkes

Comment:

• Its biggest champion Lord Hermer has just demolished the case for the ECHR – Peter Lilley, Daily Telegraph

> Today: James Crouch: Why the economy is the Conservatives’ best weapon against Reform

> Yesterday: Non-refoulement: the ‘moral line’ which any meaningful ECHR reform will have to cross

Douglas Carswell: Restore the State (Part 4): Serious reform of the Civil Service

News in brief:

• Peter Mandelson is no reason to end political appointments – Nial Gooch, Unherd
• We need a counter-deliverution – Tom Jones, The Critic
• Keir Starmer was a fool to ever tie himself to Peter Mandelson – Nick Cohen, The Spectator
• The Lords must fix the dangerous assisted dying bill – Lucy Thomas, The New Statesman
• France is fractured – will the Fifth Republic survive? – Andrew Hussey, CapX