Ministers rally support for Keir Starmer ahead of Mandelson vote

Cabinet ministers have been rallying support for Sir Keir Starmer, ahead of a vote by MPs on whether he should face a parliamentary investigation over his claims about the vetting of Lord Mandelson. The prime minister has denied accusations he misled MPs over whether the vetting for the role US ambassador followed "due process" and over his assertion that "no pressure whatsoever" was applied to officials at the Foreign Office. Giving an impassioned speech to Labour MPs on Monday evening, the PM branded the vote, which was requested by the Conservatives, "pure politics" and urged them to "stand together against it". The BBC has been told Labour MPs have been ordered to vote down the proposal. It is unlikely the vote will pass as this would require a mass rebellion by Labour MPs and there is no evidence one is brewing. However, it will take place after two former senior government figures - the PM's ex-chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and the former top civil servant at the Foreign Office Sir Philip Barton - give evidence to MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee. It is possible their accounts could change the mood among MPs. In a sign of how politically damaging a major rebellion could