![\"London](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/nl-header_politico_london-playbook.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\nBy ANDREW MCDONALD<\/strong><\/p>\n with MARTIN ALFONSIN LARSEN<\/strong><\/p>\n WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING:<\/strong> Donald Trump addressed Americans from the Oval Office via a Truth Social video<\/a>\u00a0after influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead. The U.S. president said he is \u201cfilled with grief and anger\u201d and that this was a \u201cdark moment for America.\u201d\u00a0PM Keir Starmer<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Reform UK\u2019s Nigel Farage<\/a> (who knew Kirk) are among the British figures to have paid tribute after his shocking death, which will dominate headlines Stateside for days to come and spill over into debates about political violence here in Britain too.\u00a0Here\u2019s the full story<\/a>\u00a0with what we know so far from POLITICO U.S.<\/p>\n Good Thursday morning.<\/strong> This is Andrew McDonald.<\/p>\n DRIVING THE DAY<\/p>\n MANDELSON DANGLES BY A THREAD: <\/strong>Ministers and officials will spend today watching through their fingers for any more wince-inducing revelations about Peter Mandelson\u2019s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. The Labour grandee\u2019s future lies in the balance \u2014 words you could have written at many stages of his long and scandal-hit career. The context and the story are different this time, but that\u2019ll be no comfort for Keir Starmer, who faces the agonizing choice of whether to stick or twist with the man he chose as his ambassador to Washington. And all less than a week before the Donald Trump circus arrives in England.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fighter, not a quitter: <\/strong>No. 10 was standing by its man last night, making clear there had been no change to the position raked over at PMQs and in the Lobby briefing that followed \u2014 namely, that Mandelson still retains Starmer\u2019s full confidence. Playbook hears the ambassador isn\u2019t planning to resign.<\/p>\n **A message from Shell UK:<\/strong> Shell is a vital contributor to the UK, supporting energy security, jobs and economic value. We believe that a predictable and globally competitive fiscal and regulatory climate will enable us to invest to strengthen the UK\u2019s energy security and drive economic opportunity. Find out more, and disclaimer: shell.co.uk\/about-us<\/a>.**<\/strong><\/p>\n Which means \u2026 <\/strong>another day of Mandelson-focused questions for the PM\u2019s spokesperson at 11.30 a.m. <\/strong>\u2026 for Defence Secretary John Healey after a 2.30 p.m.<\/strong> speech, if hacks are brave enough to go off topic \u2026 for MHCLG Secretary Steve Reed, who has a visit and a BBC interview later \u2026 and for Mike Tapp. Spare a thought for the newly-minted Home Office minister, who has his first morning broadcast round for the government. A baptism of fire.<\/p>\n Top of the question list: <\/strong>Whether (and when) Keir Starmer asked Mandelson what, exactly, was still to emerge about his associations with Epstein \u2014 given the ambo told the Sun Tuesday night he had \u201cno doubt at all\u201d more revelations were \u201cgoing to come out.\u201d And whether Starmer went out to defend him at PMQs in the knowledge that Mandelson had told Epstein, when he faced charges of soliciting a minor, that \u201cyour friends stay with you and love you.\u201d Mandelson told the BBC<\/a> he \u201crelied on assurances of [Epstein\u2019s] innocence that turned out later to be horrendously false.\u201d<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth: <\/strong>Playbook hears that while Starmer did not speak to Mandelson about the issue on Wednesday, No. 10 was at least kept in the loop on Mandelson\u2019s interview<\/a> with Harry Cole that dominated headlines Wednesday morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n Early morning reading for Mike Tapp: <\/strong>Bloomberg\u2019s investigative team obtained more than 100 emails between the ambassador and Epstein (and published several of them), many of which contain humiliating extra details and cryptic bits that raise more questions. Read through them all here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Strategy, strategy, strategy: <\/strong>Curiously \u2026 Bloomberg also published some of the sausage-making behind its story. The journalists revealed they sent Mandelson a detailed right of reply that didn\u2019t get a response on Monday \u2026 then followed up for a response on Wednesday morning after learning of Mandelson\u2019s Sun interview \u2026 and then watched the wording of some of the most eye-catching emails appear in the Sun on Wednesday evening<\/a>. How on earth could that have happened?<\/p>\n BETTING ON VETTING: <\/strong>Of course, anyone speaking for the government today will likely point, as Starmer and his officials did, to the \u201cfull due process\u201d undertaken prior to Mandelson\u2019s appointment. The real question is what that process actually uncovered and how much the PM made a political judgement to appoint him anyway. The hope among optimistic officials last night was that the emails published by the Sun and Bloomberg were the worst of what is out there.\u00a0But but but \u2026<\/p>\n Overshadowing the pomp:<\/strong> Even if that\u2019s true, it doesn\u2019t rule out a drip-drip of new stories, or calls from various new quarters for Mandelson to go, in the days leading up to next week\u2019s state visit. Any journalists who get the opportunity to ask questions of Trump and Starmer could sour the mood by (fairly) asking Starmer about Mandelson\u2019s Epstein links, watched by a president with his own associations to Epstein. And Trump really hates<\/a> being asked about Epstein. What will King Charles think of it all?<\/p>\n Before and after: <\/strong>With many of the front pages giving Mandelson a pasting \u2014 the Mail has the punchiest<\/a> \u2014 there are also a couple of fresh disclosures splattered around overnight. The Times reports<\/a> on a secret memo (which was blocked from being published in a standard National Archives release, according to the paper) from Mandelson urging Tony Blair to meet Epstein in 2002 \u2026 and the paper reports<\/a> that in 2013, five years after Epstein pleaded guilty to the solicitation of a minor, Mandelson asked Epstein for his help in vetting an Israeli political consultant.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>FT obsession<\/strong><\/a>\u201d no more: <\/strong>Given all that, <\/strong>it\u2019s little wonder the political pressure is increasing \u2014 after Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch ratcheted it up by making the government very uncomfortable at PMQs. Some Labour MPs called for Mandelson to go Wednesday (six by Playbook\u2019s count), with the Telegraph picking up their comments here<\/a>. The six are from the left but Blue Labour commander in chief Maurice Glasman was making similar noises too, and the Mail\u2019s Jason Groves got hold of a memo<\/a> Glasman sent Morgan McSweeney at the start of the year urging the government not to appoint Mandelson. How many more Labour figures will pipe up today?\u00a0<\/p>\n Many such cases: <\/strong>Loads of Labour MPs already fatigued by previous delays over sackings and scandal-caused resignations are privately expecting, and hoping, for Mandelson to be pushed out before any further damage is caused. \u201cThere\u2019s a risk this morphs into another full blown political crisis for the PM,\u201d a senior Labour figure tells HuffPost\u2019s Kevin Schofield<\/a>, while another MP voices the question inspiring fear in Labour circles to Kitty Donaldson at the i <\/a>\u2014 \u201cWhat happens if the Sunday papers have more?\u201d Phase 2, going well.<\/p>\n BATTLE OF THE DEPUTIES<\/p>\n AND THEN THERE WERE (PROBABLY) TWO: <\/strong>As things stand this morning, the Labour deputy leadership race looks like a two-horse race between Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and the sacked former Cabinet minister Lucy Powell \u2014 with the two northern women the only contenders anywhere near the magic 80 nomination threshold right now. Confirmation of a battle between the two, and\/or a third candidate, will come after nominations close at 5 p.m.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Scores on the doors: <\/strong>Phillipson was on 116 supporters when the nominations list was updated at 7 p.m. last night, with Powell on 77. The two candidates furthest to the left, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Paula Barker, were on 15 and 14 respectively, with Emily Thornberry on 13.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of course \u2026 <\/strong>a good 160-odd MPs are still yet to nominate, the camps will fight to the end, and there\u2019s a chance that MPs who know Powell and Phillipson are across the line could turn their attention to widening the debate. (A tactic that went so well in 2015.<\/a>) So there is a plausible path for a third candidate to sneak onto the ballot. But it will require MPs to strategize rather than splitting three ways. And remember, as Aubrey Allegretti from the Times<\/a> pointed out, they can\u2019t switch their nominations from one candidate to another.<\/p>\n Unless \u2026 <\/strong>Their chosen candidate pulls out, as many suspect some or all of the three trailing candidates may today. So there could be twists and turns to come. Especially given the relative unknown of the requirement for endorsement from three Labour-affiliated groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n But as it stands \u2026 <\/strong>it looks as if we\u2019re getting a race between Phillipson, the favored candidate of several Cabinet ministers (and in all likelihood No. 10, though her team denies that she is the \u201cmachine candidate\u201d), and Powell, whose allies make the case that as a backbencher she will have more time to be a campaigning deputy. One Phillipson-supporting MP tells the Times<\/a> their candidate is \u201creally good, but no matter how hard she tries this will turn into a referendum on the government and the membership just can\u2019t wait to give them a kicking.\u201d It might be a messy one.<\/p>\n LAST NIGHT ON ZOOM: <\/strong>The five candidates faced off for a PLP-only online hustings. The frontrunner Phillipson told MPs she was the only candidate who could unite the party (h\/t Tony Diver<\/a>) while Powell went more on the full-time campaigner angle. Powell also brought back an old Corbyn (and Blair, TBF) slogan (h\/t Max Kendix<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n Otherwise \u2026 <\/strong>it wasn\u2019t all that interesting, from what Playbook could gather last night \u2014 though two MPs pointed to the trailing Thornberry as being \u201cunnecessarily rude\u201d about the other candidates in an otherwise apparently good-natured contest. Maybe involving members at the next stage will ignite the drama.<\/p>\n TODAY IN WESTMINSTER<\/p>\n SCOOP: <\/strong>Reform UK\u2019s Zia Yusuf had a blazing row with members of the audience after Sky\u2019s live immigration debate last night, two people with knowledge of the incident told Playbook. Once the cameras stopped rolling, Yusuf was said to have ended up shouting at the audience and accusing them of being biased \u2014 to the point where host Trevor Phillips intervened to tell Yusuf to \u201cstop shouting at the audience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Reform\u2019s response: <\/strong>A Reform official confirmed the row took place \u2014 but insisted the audience started shouting in an abusive way at Yusuf first. They said Yusuf became irate because audience members aimed personal, and allegedly racist, abuse in his direction, adding that Reform will be making a formal complaint about the way its head of policy was treated.<\/p>\n MEANWHILE, IN WAR: <\/strong>Britain is considering sending fighter jets to Poland after it was forced to shoot down multiple drones in its airspace, the Times (print only), Telegraph<\/a> and my colleague Esther Webber report. \u201cWe stand with our Polish friends just as we have stood with Ukraine,\u201d Defence Minister Luke Pollard told Esther. He stressed that U.K. forces have experience of defending the airspace on NATO\u2019s eastern flank.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pollard pointed to \u2026 <\/strong>the U.K.\u2019s recent air policing missions over Poland, RAF Typhoons which have been flying alongside Swedish fighters from Polish air bases and the deployment of the Sky Saber air defense missile system to Poland. A government official said all these were being considered.<\/p>\n Hear from Healey: <\/strong>Defence Secretary John Healey will make the closing keynote speech at the DSEI U.K. event<\/a> at 2.30 p.m.<\/strong>, and will take questions afterward.\u00a0<\/p>\n SCOOP \u2014 TEED UP: <\/strong>Teesside is set to be formally confirmed as a government \u201cAI growth zone\u201d imminently, POLITICO\u2019s Dan Bloom writes in. The FT reported in July<\/a> that this was coming down the track and it is linked to plans<\/a> for a massive data center on the old Teesworks site in Redcar. Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen told POLITICO an announcement is coming after he worked closely with ministers and the PM\u2019s former AI adviser Matt Clifford, adding that what he wants to deliver on Teeside is \u201calmost double the size of the whole of the data center economy in the whole of the U.K.\u201d A DSIT spox said the department was \u201cworking closely\u201d to identify the most promising applications to take forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the side plot: <\/strong>A decision by Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is still looming \u2014 he pushed the deadline back to Oct. 30<\/a> \u2014 over BP proposals to build a hydrogen plant on the same site (which Houchen backed in its previous form<\/a> but now opposes). So what exactly all this will mean for the land clash<\/a> over the two competing mega-projects, is still \u2026 hard to tell.<\/p>\n IN OTHER TECH NEWS: <\/strong>The U.K. and U.S. will sign a slim but security-focused tech pact during Donald Trump\u2019s state visit next week, my tech colleague Tom Bristow reports. Trump will be flanked by a bevy of tech and finance bros, including NVIDIA boss Jensen Huang, who Tom hears will make an investment announcement in Blyth, Northumberland, the site of what will be Britain\u2019s biggest data center.<\/p>\n BORIS FILES LATEST: <\/strong>The Conservative Party is facing questions about a possible breach of electoral law, the Guardian\u2019s Henry Dyer, Tom Burgis and Rob Evans report<\/a> in the latest story in the paper\u2019s \u201cBoris Files\u201d series. They write that donations worth \u00a32.6 million registered to Rosemary Sa\u00efd may have come from her husband Wafic Sa\u00efd, a Monaco-based businessman who is barred from donating to U.K. political parties because he isn\u2019t eligible to vote here. <\/p>\n Rights of reply: <\/strong>Sa\u00efd said he hasn\u2019t donated to the Tories \u201cfor at least 25 years, and any suggestion otherwise would be clearly untrue.\u201d A Conservative spokesperson said the party conducted \u201cproper due diligence\u201d on the donations.<\/p>\n IT\u2019S NOT ME, IT\u2019S YOU:<\/strong> Multinational drugmaker Merck has scrapped a \u00a31 billion London research center and will lay off more than 100 staff because the U.K. is not \u201cinternationally competitive.\u201d The story splashes the Financial Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n DIFFERENT SHADES OF BLUE:<\/strong> Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman<\/strong>, Reform\u2019s Richard Tice<\/strong> and Tory peer David Frost<\/strong> will join forces from across party lines to launch a new Prosperity Institute-sponsored report<\/a> calling for the U.K. to leave the ECHR and \u201creclaim full sovereignty.\u201d The report \u2014 which will be presented at a Westminster event from 10 a.m. \u2014 argues that leaving the ECHR is critical to ensure the government is able to stop the boats and get a handle on illegal immigration.<\/p>\n They won\u2019t like this:<\/strong> The trio\u2019s appearance comes the day after Attorney General Richard Hermer told the Lords\u2019 Constitution Committee that reforming the ECHR is impossible in the short term and that it would be a \u201cpolitical trick\u201d to pretend meaningful changes to it could be achieved in time to make a difference, per the Times\u2019 Matt Dathan<\/a>. But his promise that the government will \u201cleave no stone unturned\u201d in how British courts interpret the ECHR does net him rare positive write-ups in the Mail<\/a> and Telegraph<\/a>.<\/p>\n NIGEL\u2019S WORLD<\/strong>: Reform U.K. is taking advice from a Trump-aligned think tank which casts doubt on climate science and has accused the government of trying to control the population using remotely-controlled electric vehicles, my colleague Abby Wallace reports<\/a>. The Heartland Institute \u2014 which launched its U.K. arm in December \u2014 told Abby that it has \u201cheld conversations\u201d with Reform policymakers. A Reform spokesperson didn\u2019t deny that it had held discussions with the think tank.<\/p>\n WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: <\/strong>Migration \u2014 as the Home Office publishes new stats<\/a> on the number of visa sponsors for skilled and temporary workers who have had their licenses cancelled in the last year. Mike Tapp will try to use his morning round to warn those who abuse the migration system face the \u201cstrongest possible consequences.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n THE TRUMP LANGUAGE TAKEOVER: <\/strong>New Housing Secretary Steve Reed will meet housing developers at 9.30 a.m. to deliver his \u201cbuild, baby, build\u201d mantra as the government looks to try and make progress toward its tricky 1.5 million homes target, as the Telegraph reported Monday<\/a>. He\u2019ll then head on a visit to a housing development in Bedfordshire, and has a BBC interview planned (though no word on whether that will air today).<\/p>\n HEALTH SCARE:<\/strong> The latest NHS waiting list stats are published at 9.30 <\/a>a.m. \u2026 and they\u2019re likely to come up when NHS England boss Jim Mackey<\/strong> and health department perm sec Samantha Jones<\/strong> appear before the Public Accounts Committee half an hour later.<\/p>\n REPORTS OUT TODAY: <\/strong>The government must restore funding to combat female genital mutilation in the U.K., says a new report<\/a> by the Commons Women and Equalities Committee \u2026 more details are urgently needed about plans to merge the National Careers Service and Jobcentres into a new jobs and careers service, says the Work and Pensions Committee<\/a> \u2026 European countries should lower taxes, reduce the size of the public sector and slash regulations to reverse structural economic decline across the continent, says a report by the Growth Commission<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n HOUSE OF COMMONS: <\/strong>Sits from 9.30 a.m. with transport questions \u2026 questions to Commons Leader Alan Campbell<\/strong> \u2026 an environment committee statement on border biosecurity \u2026 and Labour MPs Catherine Atkinson<\/strong>, Lee Pitcher<\/strong> and Irene Campbell<\/strong> have backbench business on regional transport inequality, suicide prevention and male chick culling respectively.<\/p>\n WESTMINSTER HALL:<\/strong> Debates from 1.30 p.m. on topics including regulations for cosmetic treatments (Conservative MP Bradley Thomas<\/strong>) \u2026 and consumer affairs (Labour MP Matt Western<\/strong>).<\/p>\n HOUSE OF LORDS:<\/strong> Sits from 11 a.m. with questions on reducing the youth unemployment rate, the recent ban on social media by the Nepalese government and improving EU-U.K. conditions for arts and creative industries \u2026 an urgent question repeat by Vernon Coaker<\/strong> on the implications of Israel\u2019s recent strike in Qatar for peace in the Middle East \u2026 and Day 6 of the committee stage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.<\/p>\n BEYOND THE M25<\/p>\n UNDER ATTACK:<\/strong> Far-right and far-left groups in the European Parliament are both formally demanding that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen face a no-confidence vote. While von der Leyen\u2019s position is likely secure because she holds the support of a majority of lawmakers, the move may enable her centrist allies to squeeze concessions from her. My POLITICO colleague Max Griera has more<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWE\u2019LL GET THEM NEXT TIME\u201d:<\/strong> Israel\u2019s Ambassador to the U.S. told Fox News<\/a> that Hamas\u2019 leaders are now on notice that Israel plans to \u201celiminate\u201d them, even if they survived Tuesday\u2019s airstrike in Qatar. \u201cIf we didn\u2019t get them this time, we\u2019ll get them the next time,\u201d Yechiel Leiter said. Reuters wrote it up<\/a>. <\/p>\n LIFE ON MARS:<\/strong> Spots on rocks suggest that ancient life once thrived on Mars, according to scientists at NASA. They say that after a year of looking for other ways the marks could have been made, they cannot find another explanation for them. The Telegraph has more<\/a>.<\/p>\n **A message from Shell UK<\/strong>: Shell UK helps supply 20% of the country\u2019s gas needs.<\/a> This is thanks to our infrastructure: gas plants, pipeline systems and terminals. Gas remains vital to the UK\u2019s energy mix, balancing renewables, supporting grid stability and helping to ensure energy security. With the right policies, the North Sea can continue to deliver for Britain, with up to seven billion barrels of production remaining in the basin. It can also generate billions in tax revenue, with the OBR expecting \u00a35.2 billion to be raised this year alone. Shell UK is also investing in the future workforce through our SkillsTransition programme,<\/a> aiming to help 15,000 people into jobs with a focus on the energy transition by 2035. With a predictable and globally competitive fiscal and regulatory climate, we can invest to strengthen energy security and drive economic opportunity. Find out more, and disclaimer: shell.co.uk\/about-us<\/a>.**<\/strong><\/p>\n MEDIA ROUND<\/p>\n Migration and Citizenship Minister Mike Tapp broadcast round: <\/strong>Times Radio (7.05 a.m.) \u2026 Sky (7.15 a.m.) \u2026 BBC Breakfast (7.30 a.m.) \u2026 LBC (7.50 a.m.) \u2026 Today (8.10 a.m.) \u2026 GMB (8.30 a.m.) \u2026 GB News (9.05 a.m.).<\/p>\n Also on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast:<\/strong> Independent MP Rosie Duffield<\/strong> (7.05 a.m.) \u2026 retired police chief Andy Hayman<\/strong> (8.10 a.m.).<\/p>\n Also on Times Radio Breakfast: <\/strong>Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith<\/strong> (7.45 a.m.) \u2026 former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace<\/strong> (8 a.m.) \u2026 former Justice Secretary Charles Falconer<\/strong> (8.30 a.m.) \u2026 Reform\u2019s immigration spokesperson Ann Widdecombe<\/strong> (8.45 a.m.).<\/p>\n Also on Sky News Breakfast: <\/strong>Iain Duncan-Smith<\/strong> (7.15 a.m.) \u2026 Businessman John Caudwell<\/strong> (7.30 a.m.) \u2026 Air Marshal Edward Stringer <\/strong>and former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps<\/strong> (8.30 a.m.).<\/p>\n Also on LBC News:<\/strong> Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney<\/strong> (7.40 a.m.) \u2026 UK Hospitality boss Kate Nicholls<\/strong> (9.10 a.m.).<\/p>\n Politics Live (BBC Two 12.15 p.m.): <\/strong>Labour MP Natasha Irons<\/strong> \u2026 Conservative MP Neil Shastri-Hurst<\/strong> \u2026 columnist Steve Richards<\/strong> \u2026 and former Tory SpAd Anita Boateng<\/strong>.<\/p>\n **POLITICO hour-special debrief:<\/strong> From Washington to Windsor Castle: What Trump\u2019s State Visit will Mean for the UK. Join our renowned editorial team on Sep. 15 at 5:00 p.m. BST \/ 6:00 p.m. EST \u2013 with Jack Blanchard bringing the U.S. perspective \u2013 as they unpack what the visit means for trade, security, and diplomacy. With access to this debrief, plus a trial to our U.K. Pro Trade and Technology newsletters between Sep. 15\u201319, you\u2019ll gain the intelligence to navigate the transatlantic agenda with confidence. Register today.<\/a>** <\/strong><\/p>\n TODAY\u2019S FRONT PAGES<\/p>\n POLITICO UK<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>The Trump-aligned climate skeptics advising Britain\u2019s Nigel Farage.<\/p>\n Daily Express<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>When Harry finally met his father again.<\/p>\n Daily Mail<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Now Mandelson must be fired.<\/p>\n Daily Mirror<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Hello Papa.<\/p>\n Daily Star<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>When Harry met Charlie.<\/p>\n Financial Times<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Fresh blow to Labour growth drive as Merck pulls plug on \u00a31bn research site.<\/p>\n Metro<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Reckless Putin is testing West.<\/p>\n The Daily Telegraph<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Fight on, Mandelson told jailed Epstein.<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Poland warns of war threat after Russian drones breach airspace.<\/p>\n The Independent<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Calls for Mandelson to quit over \u201cbest pal\u201d Epstein revelations.<\/p>\n The i Paper<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Mandelson on brink over leaked emails with Epstein.<\/p>\n The Sun<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Harry\u2019s tea with the king.<\/p>\n The Times<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Starmer refuses to sack Mandelson as U.S. envoy.<\/p>\n TODAY\u2019S NEWS MAGS<\/p>\n The New Statesman<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong> The fight back.<\/p>\n\n \n<\/tr>\n \n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/PRJ-00048743_Shell-UK-Brand-Campaign-DOOH_Newsletter-banner_300x250px-1.jpg\")
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