Angela Rayner has told MPs she is “ready” to launch a leadership bid as pressure continues to mount on Sir Keir Starmer over the attempted “cover-up” of Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US Ambassador. The former Deputy Prime Minister led a mutiny against Downing Street’s attempt to control the release of potentially explosive documents about the vetting process for Lord Mandelson following revelations about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein this week.
The Government backed down and ceded control to Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee to decide what will be released into the public domain amid the pushback on Wednesday. While a handful of Labour figures have publicly called for the Prime Minister to consider his position, Ms Rayner has reportedly gone a step further and signalled that she is prepared to launch a leadership bid.
Ms Rayner told a fellow MP “I will be ready” to step up if the Prime Minister resigns following the forced climb-down, the Daily Mail reports.
A spokesperson for Ms Rayner told the PA News Agency: “We don’t recognise these claims.”
While backbenchers have reportedly signalled willingness to support Ms Rayner in a potential leadership bid, any such attempt could be stimied by the ongoing into her tax affairs.
She has yet to pay the £40,000 in missed tax, plus any additional penalties imposed by the official UK tax collector.
Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: “A Labour leadership contest could be around the corner and one of Starmer’s most likely successors as PM is still under investigation for tax avoidance even while angling for his job.
“The public deserve the full truth about their representatives, especially those on manoeuvres to lead the country. We must see the full conclusions of the HMRC investigation as soon as possible.”
Police are investigating allegations that Lord Mandelson passed on market-sensitive information to Epstein while acting as business secretary after the 2008 financial crisis.
In a speech on Thursday, the Prime Minister said “none of us knew the depth of the darkness” of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein when he was appointed US Ambassador last year and insisted he shared the “anger and frustration” of colleagues over the saga.