Unearthed Clip Of Starmer Insisting He Would 'Never Turn On Staff' Returns To Haunt PM

An unearthed clip of Keir Starmer insisting that he would never turn on his own staff has resurfaced after the prime minister threw another civil servant under the bus.

Starmer controversially sacked senior civil servant and Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins last week.

The PM fired Robbins for not telling him that UK Security Vetting had recommended that Peter Mandelson not be cleared to take up his post as UK ambassador to Washington.

But Robbins told MPs this week that he was pressured by No.10 officials to install Mandelson in the top diplomatic job no matter what.

Mandelson’s links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his business ties to Russia and China were already public knowledge at the time of his Washington appointment.

Robbins is just one of several Whitehall officials to have been dumped by Starmer as his premiership has been dogged by scandals, controversies and gaffes.

They include chief of staff Sue Gray, her successor Morgan McSweeney, cabinet secretary Chris Wormald and communications director Tim Allan.

Starmer is now on his fifth director of communications, third chief of staff and third cabinet secretary.

Now, a damning clip from January 2020 of Starmer insisting he would never blame staff for his own mistakes has emerged.

Speaking during the leadership contest to replace Jeremy Corbyn, Starmer said: “I had 8,000 staff for five years as the director of public prosecutions.

“I acted, I hope, in the right way with them. When they had victories, I celebrated on their behalf. I picked up awards on their behalves. When they made mistakes, I carried the can.

“I never turned on my staff. You should never turn on your staff!”

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