As Prime Minister refuses to quit over Mandelson, here are the occasions he has demanded others step down
Daily Telegraph 17/04/26
Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly called for ministers to resign for breaching the ministerial code. Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, he now stands accused of committing the same offence.
The Prime Minister has been accused of misleading Parliament after it emerged Lord Mandelson failed security vetting before his appointment as Britain’s ambassador to the US, despite Sir Keir telling MPs “full due process” was followed.
On Thursday night, Downing Street blamed “officials” in the Foreign Office for the decision to override recommendations by the security services and said Sir Keir only became aware of the decision on Tuesday night. Sir Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office permanent under-secretary, was fired over the vetting process.
However, this may fail to absolve the embattled Prime Minister. The ministerial code states that “it is of paramount importance” that ministers correct any inadvertent error “at the earliest opportunity”, raising questions about why he did not make a statement at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday afternoon.
While in opposition, Sir Keir called for ministers to resign over breaching the ministerial code on at least six occasions.
In March 2021, Sir Keir led calls for Nicola Sturgeon to resign if she were found guilty of giving an inaccurate account of her meeting with Alex Salmond to MSPs who were investigating harassment allegations against Mr Salmond.
Sir Keir said: “It’s about the integrity of the Scottish parliament, the integrity of the office of first minister and standards in public life. The code is explicit and the expectation has to be – if there is a breach of the code – then there should be a resignation.”
Ms Sturgeon was later cleared by a Holyrood inquiry, which found she did not mislead parliament.
The following year, the Labour leader repeatedly accused Boris Johnson of misleading parliament over his knowledge and involvement in Downing Street parties during the coronavirus pandemic.
At PMQs on Jan 12 2022, he said: “We have the prime minister putting forward a series of ridiculous denials, which he knows are untrue, a clear breach of the ministerial code.
“The party is over, Prime Minister. The only question is: will the British public kick him out, will his party kick him out or will he do the decent thing and resign?”
Two weeks later, on Jan 26, he again called on Mr Johnson to resign. Having asked the then-prime minister whether he believed the code applied to him, Sir Keir said: “I think the Prime Minister said yes, he agrees that the code does apply to him. Therefore, if he misled parliament, he must resign.”
In March of that year, Sir Keir again mentioned the ministerial code at PMQs and said it was evidence that Mr Johnson should no longer lead the country.
He said: “Talking of parties, the prime minister told the House that no rules were broken in Downing Street during lockdown. The police have now concluded that there was widespread criminality.
“The ministerial code says that ministers who ‘knowingly’ mislead the House should resign. Why is he still here?”
In 2023, Sir Keir said he expected Suella Braverman to resign as home secretary after she asked civil servants to arrange a private speed awareness course for her instead of taking penalty points.
He said Mrs Braverman’s actions were “inappropriate” and she should resign if she were found to have breached the ministerial code.
Sir Keir said: “I don’t know all the facts but it looks to me as though the home secretary’s actions were inappropriate and they should be investigated.”
He said he did not want to get “ahead of himself” in calling for Mrs Braverman to resign before adding: “I think if she’s breached the ministerial code she should go ... in the end it’s the ministerial code that matters.”
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