Sir Keir Starmer has "complete confidence" in his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister's official spokesperson has said.

As reported by our deputy political editor Sam Coates this morning, some Labour MPs are angry at McSweeney over his links to Peter Mandelson.

McSweeney reportedly pushed for the appointment of Lord Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US.

Lord Mandelson has been seen as somewhat of a mentor to McSweeney, and advised the now chief of staff when McSweeney was running Labour's general election campaign in 2024.

Lord Mandelson has attended fundraisers for McSweeney's wife Imogen Walker, who is a Labour MP.

But the latest questions over his judgement in advocating Lord Mandelson's appointment continue to add pressure to the embattled chief of staff, who is already under attack for a series of government U-turns.

He faced calls to be sacked in November, where a briefing war broke out suggesting Health Secretary Wes Streeting was plotting to topple Starmer.

Paste BN understands McSweeney denies being the source of the briefings.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats has repeated his call for a public inquiry into Peter Mandelson, following the former ambassador resigning his role in the House of Lords.

Earlier this morning, Sir Ed Davey told our lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge that an inquiry should be held to see the "impact on national security" alongside any potential criminal inquiries carried out.

Since then, Mandelson has stepped back from his role in parliament. 

But Davey has insisted that a national inquiry is still necessary. 

Watch his latest comments below...

A Conservative peer has said it would be "huge fun" if the government presses ahead with plans to use legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage. 

The former US ambassador has resigned his role in the House of Lords, but is unable to give up his peerage - this can only be done by an Act of Parliament. 

Paste BN understands that Downing Street intends to continue with plans to introduce legislation to do this, even though Mandelson has now resigned - completing half the job.

Reacting to this, Lord Moylan said: "This will allow a full debate in the House of Lords of all matters pertinent to Lord Mandelson, his history, his appointment, his friends and his finances. 

"Could go on for days. Huge fun."

He added: "[I] can't believe the government is seriously contemplating this."

His party leader, Kemi Badenoch, hit out at the "scandal, sleaze and speed" of Mandelson's downfall, saying it "only increases the scrutiny on Starmer and [Morgan] McSweeney", the PM's chief of staff.

Meanwhile, shadow housing secretary James Cleverly has hit out at the foreign secretary on social media, writing: "Making a political appointee an ambassador has to be signed off by the FS [foreign secretary], indeed the FS has to push this through.

"David Lammy would have had to push the Mandelson appointment hard. 

"Why did he ignore the warnings he would have received?"

Speaking to Paste BN a short while ago, another Conservative peer, Lord Robathan, said that using legislation to strip Mandelson of his peerage is "pretty pointless" as "nobody is going to address him as Lord Mandelson".

As we've been reporting, former prime minister Gordon Brown, has written to the Metropolitan Police about Peter Mandelson's contact with Jeffrey Epstein.

Brown made Mandelson his business secretary when he was PM back in the late noughties.

Here is his statement about his submission to the police in full:

"I have today written to the Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, with information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelson's disclosure of market sensitive and confidential government information to the American financier, Jeffrey Epstein, an inexcusable and unpatriotic act at a time when the whole government and country were attempting to address the global financial crisis that was damaging so many livelihoods.

"I have sent Sir Mark correspondence, exchanged between myself and the cabinet secretary last year, and I have also passed over information arising from it that may be important in his current investigation.

"I have included the letter I sent in September 2025 asking the cabinet secretary to investigate the veracity of information contained in the Epstein papers regarding the sale of assets arising from the banking collapse and communications about them between Lord Mandelson and Mr Epstein.

"I have also included the November [2025] response from the cabinet secretary, who said about this that 'no records of information or correspondence from Lord Mandelson's mailbox' could be found.

"Having drawn their attention to relevant evidence, the matter now rests in the hands of the police."

A Conservative peer has said he welcomes Lord Mandelson resigning his role in parliament because he was "never very interested" in the work of the chamber and was "entirely self-perpetuating".

Lord Robathan, who served as a minister under David Cameron, told Sky's chief political correspondent Jon Craig: "He's been motivated entirely by himself, if you put it that way. It's good he's gone. 

"We just need to see him go, because, frankly, his behaviour has been atrocious.

"And the prime minister decided he was the right person for the job [of UK ambassador to the US], which seems to me to be pretty strange and a serious lack of judgement in my opinion."

He added: "Keir Starmer needs to answer a few questions in that why he pursued it when everybody knew he was bloated goods."

But the peer stopped short of backing Downing Street's calls for legislation to be passed so that Mandelson should be stripped of his peerage.

Asked if he backed calls for him to lose his title, Robathan replied: "No, I don't. Why? I think it's pretty pointless. 

"Nobody is going to address him as Lord Mandelson. 

"Funny enough, if I were to see him in the street now, I'd call him Peter as I would have done beforehand. 

"Anybody can call him Peter or whatever they want to call him, but he will still be Lord Mandelson because he was made Lord Mandelson. As simple as that."

Lord Mandelson has resigned from the House of Lords - but by default, he retains his title. 

As we've just been reporting, the former ambassador is, in fact, unable to relinquish his peerage himself, meaning that he will retain his title, regardless of whether he will use it. 

So, how can the government finally make Lord Mandelson become plain Peter Mandelson again?

The House of Lords library says a peerage can only be removed by an Act of Parliament.

Mandelson has been able to relinquish his seat in the chamber because of the House of Lords Reform Act, which empowers life peers to quit their role within the house.

But it doesn't give him the power to scrap his peerage, gifted to him technically by the monarch.

The last time people had their peerages torn from them was during the First World War when the government of the day used legislation, the Titles Deprivation Act 1917, to remove it from a number of people deemed to have supported the enemy. 

The current government has been initially hesitant to repeat this process, and pass legislation to strip Mandelson of his title. 

But this morning, the PM's spokesperson confirmed that Starmer told his cabinet that the government had to go further in the Lords, "including legislatively if necessary".

Paste BN understands that Downing Street remains committed to removing Mandelson's peerage

Officials have been instructed to draw up legislation as soon as possible.

Only after this passes, will Peter Mandelson no longer technically be able to call himself Lord Mandelson.

Downing Street is still pushing ahead with plans to pass legislation to strip Peter Mandelson of his title, Paste BN understands.

Lord Mandelson has resigned his seat in the House of Lords, but cannot revoke his peerage - his title - even if he no longer uses it. 

This morning, Number 10 said the government was looking at passing legislation to boot Mandelson out of the upper chamber and to strip him of his title. 

Now that Mandelson has resigned, half the job is done. 

But Paste BN understands that Downing Street will continue to introduce necessary legislation to remove his peerage - which can only be done by an Act of Parliament.

It is understood that officials have been asked to draft legislation to remove Mandelson's peerage as soon as possible.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has now reacted to Lord Mandelson's decision to resign his position in parliament. 

Peter Mandelson announced he will no longer sit in the Lords about an hour ago, via the Lords speaker.

Reacting, Badenoch said: "Five months ago Mandelson was UK Ambassador with the full confidence of the PM. 

"Today he is no longer the ambassador, in Labour or a peer.

"The scandal, sleaze, and speed of his downfall only increases the scrutiny on Starmer and [Morgan] McSweeney's decision to send him to Washington."

McSweeney is the PM's chief of staff in Downing Street.

Downing Street has responded following Peter Mandelson's decision to quit the House of Lords.

Lord Mandelson's decision was announced in the upper chamber in the last hour.

Responding to this, a Downing Street spokesperson said: 

"It is right that Peter Mandelson will no longer be a member of the House of Lords. As the prime minister said this morning, Peter Mandelson let his country down."

Mandelson has faced intense pressure and scrutiny for his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

He was appointed the UK's ambassador to the US, late in 2024 - taking up the role in February last year.

But Sir Keir Starmer then sacked him seven months later, as newly released documents showed his relationship with the disgraced financier was "materially different" to what he had told the government, the PM previously said.