Tessa Fleming

What did he have to say?

OK, so Starmer is saying he didn't know that Mandelson failed the vetting, but obviously that account isn't uncontested because you have Ollie Robbins, who was until very recently one of the senior, most senior figures in the Foreign Office, but was sacked lately by Keir Starmer.

And he's telling a very different story.

So what is he saying and how much does it undermine Number 10?

Well, Downing Street still hasn't explained why Peter Mandelson failed the vetting process in the first place.

But he was appointed to the most, as they say, the most sensitive diplomatic post.

So I presume he would have access to a lot of, you know, very sensitive information that

So when you take all that into account, failing the vetting process, how significant is that?

So with this kind of drip feed of information that we've been getting since September regarding Mandelson and his appointment, it seems what people really want is transparency.

So will Parliament now get to see Mandelson's vetting documents?

And we saw Starmer coming under sustained pressure in the Commons this week.

And whoever keen number 10 might be for this to all blow over, it doesn't look like it's going anywhere.

So how do you see this playing out in the coming days and weeks?

And who else is likely to weigh in?

So the fact that this scandal has been dragging on for months has so far cost Keir Starmer his US ambassador, his chief of staff and the head of the Foreign Office, Ollie Robbins.

So what does it mean for Keir Starmer himself?

How much political damage will it cause?

And will Mandelson eventually be his undoing, do you think?

And with Stormer's government continuing to flounder, the stage is now wide open for a new political act.

And last week, we looked at the rise of reform under Nigel Farage.