Lord Peter Mandelson criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership and said No 10 needed a “complete revamp” in messages released among thousands of documents on Monday
Voice of the Mirror has its say…
Peter Mandelson has always carried himself as a man above ordinary politics. Even after leaving office, he continued orbiting power, advising and influencing as though Labour and government still needed his guiding hand.
That same arrogance now hangs over the scandal surrounding his disastrous appointment as ambassador to Washington. Warnings about his links to Jeffrey Epstein and the reputational risks around him were raised before he got the role. The vetting was rushed. The concerns brushed aside.
Now Parliament is demanding answers, and ministers involved have handed over messages and evidence. Everyone, that is, except Mandelson.
The man at the centre of this affair has refused to surrender his personal phone, sheltering while ministers admit they cannot compel him.
It leaves one unavoidable question hanging over this whole mess: what exactly does Peter Mandelson not want parliament or the public to see?
No parent should drag kids as young as 5 into crime
A five-year-old child should be clutching a reading book, not armfuls of stolen designer goods.
Yet police say organised gangs are now sending such youngsters into shops to steal because they know security guards will be reluctant to stop them.
It is nothing short of child exploitation carried out by adults who see their own kids as useful tools for crime. These youngsters are not criminals masterminding daring raids. They are victims of shameless parents willing to sacrifice their childhoods for cash.
The Metropolitan Police deserve credit for cracking down. But parents who can be proved to have repeatedly sent their children out to steal should face the full force of the law.
Any adult willing to drag a five-year-old into crime is utterly unfit to call themselves a parent.
King Kev gives hope
Kevin Keegan’s revelation that he is battling stage four cancer will have touched football fans across the country.
Yet the warmth, humour and honesty shown by the former England star will also give hope to countless families facing the same fight.
Modern treatments are transforming lives and proving that even the darkest diagnoses are not always the end.
