Keir Starmer

I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson.

I take responsibility for that decision.

And I apologise again.

At any point in the last seven days have you considered your position and thought about resigning?

I think it's very important to see what's going on here.

Last week, my political opponents were saying that there's no way

a civil servant wouldn't have told me about the outcome of developed vetting, the security exercise.

Turns out my political opponents were completely wrong about that.

Then they said that I was dishonest.

It turns out they were completely wrong about that.

They are now putting any allegation that they can.

And I'll tell you for why.

They're opposed politically to what this government is trying to achieve.

The News Agents.

That I wasn't told that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting when he's appointed is staggering.

That I wasn't told that he'd failed security vetting when I was telling Parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable.

Not only was I not told, no minister was told.

And I'm absolutely furious about that.

What I intend to do is to go to Parliament on Monday to set out all the relevant facts in true transparency so Parliament has the full picture.

And they made clear it was political.