Anas Sarwar calls for Keir Starmer to step down

Anas Sarwar has called for Keir Starmer to step down as prime minister amid the ongoing row over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

The Scottish Labour leader told a press conference in Glasgow that he was doing what was right for Scotland.

“The distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change,” he said.

He said Starmer was a “decent man” but that May's election “must be about one thing and one thing only: Scotland”.

He said: “This isn’t easy and it’s not without pain, as I have a genuine friendship with Keir Starmer. But my first priority and my first loyalty is to my country – Scotland.

“I am not willing to sacrifice Scotland’s NHS, our schools, our communities, our towns, cities, villages and islands to a third decade of an SNP government.”

He said the “situation in Downing Street” was “not good enough” with too many mistakes under Starmer’s leadership.

It follows a row over the appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US, despite having known links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019.

Sarwar said Mandelson had “betrayed” his country.

He defended Labour’s record in government, saying there were “good things that are happening across our country” but the leadership had “become a huge distraction”.

Asked what had changed since last Thursday, when he told journalists he believed Starmer could remain in office, he said the issues were “much broader now”.

He added: “There have been too many incidences where the wrong government calls have been made. There have been too many mistakes and that is distracting from the work of government and it's also distracting from the big choice that people in Scotland have to make in three months’ time. That's why I think it needs to change in Downing Street.”

He continued: “I am going to spend all my time concentrating on removing John Swinney, changing the government here in Scotland, and making sure we deliver the new direction Scotland needs.”

He refused to back any candidate to replace Starmer, and he denied his call was part of a coordinated effort to remove Starmer. He said: “I'm making my own decision based upon my own view, being my own man.”

He confirmed he made Starmer aware of his position earlier today.

On Mandelson, Sarwar said he had known the peer since 2021. He said he had engaged with him when he was the ambassador to the US to “protect Scotland's interests” but he is “not someone or something I want to be associated with”.

The Scottish Labour leader is the most high-profile party figure to call for the prime minister’s resignation in relation to the scandal.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy tweeted his backing for Starmer, saying he had won a “massive mandate” 18 months ago.

And Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said he didn't agree with Sarwar’s position.

He said: “Anas has reached his own decision and I respect that. My job – as Anas acknowledged today – is to make sure Scotland’s voice is heard in Cabinet. My focus remains on doing that.

“The prime minister has recognised not just that lessons have to be learned but also that we change how we do government. He is right about that and has my support. Like all Labour MPs we want the Labour government to be the government that the people of this country hoped for when they rejected the Tories. That is where all of my energies are and will remain focussed.”

Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned over the weekend over the Mandelson affair. McSweeney said he accepted “full responsibility” for the appointment with police now investigating Mandelson for misconduct in public office.

The publication of more of the so-called Epstein papers by the US Department of Justice has shone new light on Mandelson’s friendship with the sex offender, piling pressure on Starmer.

In a statement, McSweeney said the decision to appoint Mandelson was “wrong” and had “damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself”.

He said: “When asked, I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice. In public life responsibility must be owned when it matters most, not just when it is most convenient. In these circumstances, the only honourable course is to step aside.”

Last week Starmer told the Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions that the official security vetting for the ambassador post had mentioned the ongoing relationship with Epstein, but he said Mandelson had lied and “completely misrepresented” the extent of the relationship between the two men.

Commenting on what he called Sarwar’s “U-turn”, SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn MP said: “Anas Sarwar expressed confidence in Keir Starmer just last Thursday, and now he has acted in self-preservation to save his own skin.

“That fact won’t be lost on the Scottish public come May who will see right through Anas Sarwar and his appalling judgement which has been laid bare for all to see.”