Scottish Labour MPs will not back a call for a parliamentary sleaze inquiry into the Prime Minister over his appointment of Peter Mandelson – with Anas Sarwar insisting the move was a “stunt” by the SNP.
The Scottish Labour leader was clear that Lord Mandelson should “never have been thought about as the ambassador to the US, never mind be the ambassador to the US”.
But he dismissed SNP calls for him to order Scottish Labour MPs to back an inquiry by the Commons Privileges Committee to consider if the Prime Minister misled the House over the way the appointment was handled.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the Commons vote on the matter was “an opportunity to end Keir Starmer’s short and sorry time as Prime Minister”.
He told the Scottish Labour chief it was also “the ultimate test of your claim that you want him to resign”.
But speaking as he campaigned in Glasgow in the run up to the Holyrood election next week, Mr Sarwar blasted the SNP’s call.
“It’s a political stunt nine days out from an election,” he said.
“People know my view on Keir Starmer, they know my view on the Mandelson scandal.
“But Scottish Labour MPs are not going to take part in a political stunt.”
Back in February, the Scottish Labour leader had called for Sir Keir to quit as Prime Minister – with Mr Sarwar saying the appointment of Lord Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US, despite his links with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was his “tipping point”.
Speaking on Tuesday, ahead of the Commons vote into whether there should be an inquiry by the Privileges Committee, Mr Sarwar said: “It’s right that processes take place in the Parliament.”
But he insisted his focus was not on events in Westminster, but on the Holyrood campaign, stating again that votes for his party would not be seen as an “endorsement” of the Labour government at Westminster.
“The choice people face in nine days’ time is not about passing judgment on Keir Starmer,” Mr Sarwar said.
“A vote for me and Scottish Labour in this election is not an endorsement for Keir Starmer, it won’t be used as an endorsement for Keir Starmer, it’s a vote to change the first minister in Scotland.
“And I’m not willing to give John Swinney and the SNP a free pass because of the mistakes of someone somewhere else.
“Scotland needs a new government and I’m the only person who can remove the SNP and be that new government.”
Mr Sarwar said he was “going to focus on removing the SNP from office”, claiming this was “what Scotland so desperately needs”.
And he told voters: “This is not an election that is a free hit or a protest or not without consequence. It’s going to decide the future of our NHS, of our schools, of opportunities for our young people, of our housing system, and so much more.”
But SNP leader John Swinney said there should be an inquiry into the Prime Minister.
Speaking to the Press Association as he campaigned in Edinburgh, the Scottish First Minister said: “I think the Prime Minister should face an inquiry, but I also think the Prime Minister should just get it over and done with and resign.
“I think it’s crystal clear from all of the documentation that’s come out, that the driving force behind appointing Peter Mandelson as the ambassador to the United States was the Prime Minister and number 10 Downing Street.
“Now, various other people have lost their jobs; his chief of staff, the head of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, various other people have exited the government.
“But the person who actually, totally and utterly is responsible for this decision is the Prime Minister, and he should just face the inevitability that he’s lost public confidence, lost the confidence to his party, and he should resign.”
Meanwhile, Mr Flynn said that Mr Sarwar’s refusal to order Scottish Labour MPs to vote for an inquiry meant that “voters across Scotland now know that Anas Sarwar’s words are meaningless and he is too weak and untrustworthy to actually stand up to Starmer when it matters most”.
The SNP MP said: “Instead of taking action to investigate the scandal-hit Prime Minister, Sarwar and his Scottish Labour MPs have followed orders from Downing Street to keep him in place and, in doing so, have directly implicated themselves in the Mandelson scandal.”
