Plaid Cymru says Keir Starmer has ‘Lost all authority’

Keir Starmer has no authority after ‘taking a back seat in his own government’ – Plaid Cymru
Liz Saville Roberts slams Keir Starmer for ‘outsourcing responsibility’ and ‘showing so little curiosity’ about Mandelson vetting

Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts MP has said that Prime Minister Keir Starmer has “lost all authority” after what she described as an attempt by Labour to dismiss serious questions over ministerial responsibility as a failure by officials.

Her comments come after Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the Prime Minister “was told [Mandelson had] been granted developed vetting status… and if he had known that UK Security Vetting hadn’t cleared him, he would not have made that appointment.”

Speaking on Sunday, on the eve of Keir Starmer’s address to MPs, Liz Saville Roberts MP said:

“The Prime Minister has lost all authority. If we accept Labour’s attempt to dismiss this as nothing more than a failure by officials, we are left with a serious conclusion – that the Prime Minister has outsourced responsibility, taken a back seat in his own government, and failed to assert the authority expected of his office in ensuring the right questions are asked.

“A Prime Minister with authority would make it clear to officials that responsibility for such consequential decisions rests squarely at the very top. That does not appear to have happened here.

“Peter Mandelson has a long and well-documented history of controversy, stretching back long before his appointment as US ambassador. For the Prime Minister to have shown so little curiosity about the vetting process is astonishing.

“Whether we accept Labour’s spin or not, it is clear that Keir Starmer has no authority and cannot remain in post.”