The Tory leader refuted accusations that her party should have spoken out more about the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador.
Kemi Badenoch has hit out at suggestions that her party did not initially speak out about the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador. Speaking yesterday at a press conference in London, the Conservative leader reacted passionately to a question by a BBC journalist.
Badenoch was asked if she was “acting outraged today but when it all mattered 14 months ago, you and so many other MPs chose to look away.” The Tory leader, who has seen an uptick in her approval ratings in recent months, responded passionately as she refuted the suggestion that Conservatives had not warned of the pitfalls of Mandelson’s appointment. She said: “That’s complete nonsense.
The Conservative leader dismissed the suggestion from a BBC that she should have spoken out more (Image: Getty)
“First of all, Ian Duncan Smith spoke up and said that this was wrong.
“Caroline Dinenage spoke up and said that it was wrong, lots of Conservative MPs said it.
“We are a strong team. I don’t need to say every single thing at every single moment, especially as I believed that the Prime Minister had carried out security vetting.
“He’s the one who had the information so I don’t understand how this is now the Tory’s fault. I think that’s completely preposterous, this is Labour’s fault.”
Pressure continues to mount on the Prime Minister to sack his most senior adviser amid the fallout from the Mandelson scandal.
Pressure is growing on the PM after new revelations came to light (Image: Getty)
Labour MPs issued further calls on Friday for Sir Keir to dismiss his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, whom they blame for Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador despite the peer’s links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Backbencher Simon Opher called for a “clear out at Number 10”, telling the BBC’s Today programme: “If my chief of staff had done this, I think he would be looking for another job.”
Others calling for Mr McSweeney’s departure include veteran MP Clive Efford and Southport’s Patrick Hurley, who suggested another job should be found for him running the party’s campaigns rather than the Government.
Their comments follow an intervention by Labour’s former deputy leader Baroness Harriet Harman, who said Sir Keir should consider “a real reset” in Downing Street and warned his premiership could be finished if he does not take the right course of action.
But other than a handful of backbenchers, most MPs have so far declined to call for the Prime Minister himself to go, stressing their support for Sir Keir while urging a change in backroom staff.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman has said Sir Keir retains “full confidence” in Mr McSweeney.
