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Lord Mandelson was denied clearance in January last year, but the Foreign Office used exceptional powers to overrule this decision |
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Tony Diver Political Editor |
Will Keir Starmer even make it to the local elections next month?
Yesterday morning, the idea that the Prime Minister was on the brink of resignation was unthinkable.
Twenty-four hours on, the latest twist in the Mandelson saga has created the most dangerous political moment for Starmer yet. The bombshell revelation dropped last night that Mandelson had failed his security clearance but was appointed as US ambassador anyway.
The story drives a coach and horses through Starmer’s insistence that “due process was followed” in No 10, and has left him facing calls to resign from all three major opposition party leaders.
Senior No 10 sources say they are “furious” with the Foreign Office for failing to tell Starmer about the security vetting issue and letting him repeatedly mislead MPs. As a result, Sir Olly Robbins, the most senior civil servant in the department, was sacked late last night after losing the confidence of the Prime Minister and Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary.
Olly Robbins was the highest civil servant in the Foreign Office |
One very influential Westminster source told me last night that it is Starmer who is now unlikely to survive a week in Downing Street, let alone fight the local elections in three weeks.
This story has raised more questions than answers – about who knew what and when, and why Labour has totally lost control of this process.
The Mandelson Files, which began as an exercise in transparency, have become an unprecedented political debacle.
To survive it, Starmer will have to satisfy the demands for the truth from the people now calling for his resignation.
Subscribe to read the full story ➤
Starmer sacks Foreign Office chief over Mandelson vetting scandal ➤
Red flags that meant Mandelson failed vetting may never be revealed ➤
Telegraph View | Starmer’s leadership is now in grave crisis ➤ |
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Tom Harris Amber Rudd had to resign as home secretary for inadvertently misleading Parliament. The Prime Minister’s failings appear much worse Continue reading ➤
Ben Marlow Britain has record taxes yet Labour’s mismanagement has left us broke Continue reading ➤
Rowan Pelling Never mind the manosphere, it’s Greta Thunberg who worries me Continue reading ➤ |
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The couple’s behaviour has ‘caused considerable concern’ behind palace gates |
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s latest tour of Australia was meant to project purpose, writes Camilla Tominey, our Associate Editor. Instead, it has reignited a familiar question: where, exactly, is the line between public service and private profit? There is growing unease in royal circles over the Duchess of Sussex’s use of a fashion platform to monetise outfits worn on charitable engagements – a model the Palace has long resisted. For subscribers only ➤ |
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The attempted arson attack on the Finchley Reform Synagogue is being treated as an anti-Semitic hate crime |
I was eating lunch on Wednesday when I received an email from my synagogue, Finchley Reform in north London, writes Lucy Tobin. It said that people tried to set fire to the building – an outward-looking, kind place that I have loved since my parents joined when I was seven. Now we have a new fear in our hearts. Continue reading ➤ |
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Labour promised to “bulldoze” England’s planning system and unlock a housebuilding revolution, building an unprecedented 1.5 million homes by 2030. However, as Melissa Lawford reports, almost two years on, England is on track to deliver just 706,000 new homes over this parliament. This represents just 47 per cent of Labour’s target and 5 per cent fewer homes than were built under the previous government. Continue reading ➤ |
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Andy Mycock will appear on Radio 4 this weekend for a thought-provoking documentary about his name |
What’s in a name? Ask Andy Mycock. For decades he has lived with one that would have most of us failing to suppress a fit of giggles. Unbowed, Andy has made something of a career of his unfortunate cognomen, and talks to Tristram Fane Saunders ahead of his Radio 4 show. Of his decision to go into teaching, he says: “I did a day release at a local school. One day was enough.”
Andy is looking for solidarity and would like your help. “There will be lots of other Telegraph readers with distinctive names connected to a particular place,” he says. “I would be hugely interested to hear from them.” Tell us your experiences ➤ |
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Charlotte and Adam Gompertz, both vicars with the Church of England, compared a new Renault 4 E-Tech with their diesel-fuelled Jaguar XF |
Vicars Adam and Charlotte Gompertz rely heavily on their 12-year-old diesel Jaguar XF. To see if they could make the electric switch, the Shrewsbury couple tested a new Renault 4 E-Tech. From dodging Birmingham’s congestion charge to wrestling with three-pin plugs at their Church of England home, the battery-powered trial revealed unexpected hurdles. Continue reading ➤ |
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Is sliced wholemeal healthier than artisan sourdough or rye? Analysis by consumer research company Which? has found that artisan loaves are high in salt and low in protein compared with budget options from Aldi and Lidl. From Kingsmill to Waitrose, our expert ranks the most popular wholemeal breads. Continue reading ➤ Here is another helpful article for you this morning:
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With cheeky references to AI, binge-drinking and OnlyFans, the ‘Sesame Street for adults’ has returned with a hilarious bang |
Theatre Avenue Q ★★★★☆ Twenty years ago, the bonkers-yet-ingenious “Sesame Street for adults” musical Avenue Q romped into the West End, juxtaposing cute puppets with jaw-dropping comic songs such as Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist and, unforgettably, a rampant sex scene. This jubilant anniversary revival has a few contemporary updates – added references to Netflix, AI and OnlyFans – but, happily, doesn’t sacrifice one ounce of the show’s outrageous humour.
Read Marianka Swain’s full review ➤ Film Lee Cronin’s The Mummy ★★★★☆ It’s been a while since a horror film came along that left you genuinely fearful for the spiritual well-being of all involved. So three cheers – I think – for Lee Cronin’s The Mummy: a baroquely nasty modern take on the Egyptian resurrected corpse tale, which itself feels as if it only exists because somebody somewhere prised the lid off the wrong sarcophagus. Jack Reynor and Laia Costa star as the couple whose abducted daughter turns up eight years later looking more than a little cadaverous.
Read Robbie Collin’s full review ➤ Television Grayson Perry Has Seen The Future ★★★★☆ Grayson Perry has seen the future and he doesn’t like it. After watching this programme – the first in a new documentary series about AI – neither will you. AI is going to transform humanity, yet it’s in the hands of people who seem quite blasé about the consequences. Thank goodness for Perry as our good-natured guide; without his ability to see the absurd, this whole topic would be terrifying.
Read Anita Singh’s full review ➤
Theatre
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
★★★★☆
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is back on the London stage for the first time in 20 years – with a twist. In Clint Dyer’s innovative Old Vic staging (with the alluring Aaron Pierre in the Jack Nicholson role and Olivia Williams as his icy nemesis Nurse Ratched), the mutinous asylum inmates are primarily African-American, a shift that ingeniously ties the oppressions of Western psychiatry to the racism of the civil rights era.
Read Dominic Cavendish’s full review ➤ |
Curtains up, phones downLesley Manville’s complaints about theatre etiquette have evoked a strong response from our readers. In addition to this column, the subject featured in our Culture newsletter (for which you can sign up here). Ben Lawrence, our Culture Editor, rounds up the spirited responses he received. Ben writes...
Well, Lesley Manville, Britain’s most estimable actress, certainly fired your imaginations when she complained about audience members taking photographs of the cast on their phones at curtain calls. Readers’ responses to our Culture newsletter have been witty and thought-provoking, looking at the problems around theatre etiquette in general.
Gary Hodge writes: “The standard of conduct on display in our popular culture is so degraded that almost nothing is considered too vulgar, and the only rules people feel obliged to obey are ones they find convenient.”
A particular bugbear was audiences standing up to applaud. Judith Steiner summarised it perfectly: “Going to the theatre has become a nightmare. It’s not just the audiences who seem to think they are playing an interactive part in the evening’s entertainment. It’s the standing ovations where the elderly or disabled never see the curtain call for the wall of bums in front of them belonging to idiots who can’t applaud sitting down.”
Those who disagreed with Manville were in the minority. Nevertheless, the responses were spirited. Says Irene Ranzato: “I don’t understand and it seems to me excessively snobbish. To take with you beautiful memories of beloved places and people is something that one has always done, even at the time of Polaroids.” What was your worst-ever experience of audience behaviour at the theatre or a concert? Send your responses here and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of this newsletter.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. |
Teenage Tatiana and her brother Frederick in San Francisco |
These siblings are the descendants of one of Britain’s worst leaders. What was the act that caused their ancestor to become a historic family disappointment?
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Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was HUMILIATE. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. |
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Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.
Chris Evans, Editor |
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