Starner is facing mounting pressure to give an account of his actions to the the privileges committe (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer is planning to order Labour MPs to vote against any attempt to refer him to a parliamentary sleaze inquiry — as rebels warn the move could backfire spectacularly.
The Prime Minister faces a crunch vote on Tuesday after Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle opened the door to a debate on referring Sir Keir to the privileges committee — the same body whose findings brought about Boris Johnson‘s downfall in June 2023, when Johnson resigned as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip after being found to have misled parliament over Partygate.
Downing Street had hoped Sir Lindsay would block the request outright. Instead he is expected to grant it, given the “relatively low” procedural bar for doing so.
The Times has reported that Sir Keir intends to whip Labour MPs to oppose the referral — a move that risks inflaming the growing rebellion within his own ranks.
Read more: Outraged MP confronts Starmer after migrant arrested near school
Read more: Furious MPs demand Starmer faces the sleaze inquiry that ended Boris
What are Labour grandees saying about a probe into Starmer?
Sir Alan Johnson and Lord Blunkett have issued a joint statement opposing the vote, dismissing it as a politically motivated stunt.
“The fact that Kemi Badenoch has changed the accusations she is levelling against the PM on an almost daily basis as her claims have failed to stand up to scrutiny shows what this is really about,” they said.
“This is a nakedly political stunt with no substance ahead of the May elections. Any comparison with Boris Johnson is absurd. When parliament referred that matter to the privileges committee, a police investigation had directly disproved his categoric statements that he knew nothing about the breach of lockdown rules.”
The Prime Minister’s allies have also argued that a parliamentary probe would be a “waste of public money” and a “diversion from the major challenges this country faces.”
Are Labour rebels threatening to break ranks over Starmer’s conduct?
Despite Sir Keir winning power in 2024 with a majority of 170, the whipping strategy risks deepening the divide within his parliamentary party. Labour rebels are reported to be considering joining forces with the Conservatives to force through a referral to the privileges committee.
A Labour MP told The Sun on Sunday: “Watch out for the Privileges Committee — a lot of Labour MPs are angry.”
Tory MP Saqib Bhatti appeared to reach out directly to Labour backbenchers, saying: “Labour MPs need to decide pronto if they stand with the victims of abuse or Starmer who didn’t care at all.”
What does Starmer say about the sleaze probe?
Sir Keir consistently denies misleading MPs and insists the vast majority of his parliamentary party remains solidly behind him.
“What you never hear from are all the people who are supportive, loyal and just want to get on with the job. And that is the vast majority of people in the Parliamentary Labour Party,” he told The Sunday Times.
He added: “They’ve waited a long time to be in power. And they just want to get on with their job. They don’t make a lot of noise about it. They don’t talk to journalists about it. It’s really important that is reflected in these debates.”
Sir Keir faces a difficult week ahead. Morgan McSweeney — who resigned as the Prime Minister’s chief of staff in February — is due to appear before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday, where he is expected to face questions about claims he told former Foreign Office mandarin Sir Philip Barton to “just f**king approve” Lord Mandelson’s appointment to Washington.