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The Julia Hartley-Brewer Show
Peter Mandelson FAILED security vetting and Starmer appointed him anyway: what did Sir Keir know and when?
Did Keir Starmer really not know Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting — or is Downing Street’s defence simply impossible to believe?
In this episode of The Julia Hartley Brewer Podcast, Julia is joined by commentator Dan Hodges and former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith to dissect the growing row over Peter Mandelson’s appointment, the claims that officials knew for weeks, and the extraordinary questions now hanging over the Prime Minister’s judgment.
If Mandelson was considered too high-risk for the usual clearance process, how was he allowed into one of the most sensitive jobs in British diplomacy? And if concerns about his links to Russia, China and Jeffrey Epstein were already widely known, why was he appointed at all?
Dan Hodges lays out why he believes it is “inconceivable” that nobody in Downing Street was aware of the failed vetting outcome, while Sir Iain Duncan Smith argues the real issue is not whether Starmer was formally told, but whether he already knew enough to stop the appointment himself.
Julia also examines the wider fallout: accusations of a cover-up, claims of a national security failure, and fresh scrutiny over whether the Prime Minister misled Parliament when insisting due process had been followed.
As pressure mounts on Number 10, this is the inside analysis of the Mandelson scandal, Keir Starmer’s credibility, and the political storm now threatening to engulf Labour.
Julia Hartley-Brewer broadcasts on Talk from Monday to Thursday, 10AM to 1PM.
Available on YouTube and streaming platforms, along with DAB+ radio and your smart speaker.
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The return of ISIS families, the cruise ship rat virus, and the immorality of benefits for migrants
34:25|Julia Hartley-Brewer and Claire Pearsall discuss the news that Australia is preparing to receive - and arrest - ISIS linked families. With Chris Phillips, former counter terror officer, she questions the repatriation of “walking time bombs” who may have committed serious crimes following Islamist radicalisation. The conversation shifts to the latest health panic: the Hantavirus. As British passengers self-isolate following a cruise, Julia asks whether we are witnessing another bout of state-sponsored scaremongering. Professor Carl Heneghan joins to provide a dose of reality on the actual risks of human-to-human transmission.Finally, Julia unleashes on the "immorality" of Britain’s welfare system. With news that 1.5 million migrants are claiming Universal Credit, Julia and Claire debate the collapse of the social contract, as civil servants "swing the lead" at home and Britain deals with the culture of a lack of shame in living off the taxpayer.Julia Hartley-Brewer broadcasts on Talk from Monday to Thursday, 10AM to 1PM.Available on YouTube and streaming platforms, along with DAB+ radio and your smart speaker.
Green Party Meltdown? Zack Polanski, Antisemitism and Starmer’s Election Nightmare
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Starmer’s 200,000 Person Small Boats Failure — as Reform Targets Green Constituencies with Detention Centres
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Keir Starmer Under Siege: Sleaze, Scandal and Political Chaos
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Keir Starmer’s France Small Boats Deal — and Lord Hermer’s troop ‘witch-hunt’
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Keir Starmer: Dead Man Walking? Mandelson scandal, Iran update and why young Britons wouldn’t fight for Britain
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Did Starmer Mislead Parliament? Former Head of Foreign Office gives explosive evidence – and defends himself after Starmer threw him under the bus
38:09|Keir Starmer is under huge pressure after Sir Olly Robbins gave explosive evidence on the Peter Mandelson appointment — as he describes an 'atmosphere of pressure' to approve Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Julia reacts to the extraordinary claims that Mandelson’s appointment was effectively treated as a done deal before the vetting process had run its course, with senior figures allegedly pushing for approval and little appetite inside government to stop it. If warning signs were already there, why was the process handled in this way? And if Starmer knew more than he later admitted, did he mislead Parliament?Veteran journalist Adam Boulton joins Julia to give his verdict on Robbins’s defence, the sacking of officials, and whether the Prime Minister has made the crisis even worse by trying to pin blame on everyone around him. Was this simply a disastrous political judgement — or evidence of a deeper culture of arrogance at the heart of Labour?Also: Blue Labour founder Lord Maurice Glasman tears into the Labour establishment’s obsession with Peter Mandelson, explains why the party is losing working-class voters, and warns that Starmer now looks like a leader with no clear direction and no easy escape. The allegations discussed in this episode are denied by Peter Mandelson, who has not been charged - as of the time of publishing.Julia Hartley-Brewer broadcasts on Talk from Monday to Thursday, 10AM to 1PM.Available on YouTube and streaming platforms, along with DAB+ radio and your smart speaker.