Darren Jones, an ultra-loyalist and one of the most senior cabinet ministers in Keir Starmer’s government, almost resigned during the fallout over the appointment of Lord Mandelson as US Ambassador.
In an interview for The Real Question with Shehab Khan, Jones, who served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister said that he considered quitting from the cabinet over the fallout from Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US Ambassador, after reading reports that the Labour peer had been given the job despite the UK Security and Vetting Office advising against it.
“I think I was in Brighton or somewhere at the time. And I thought, if it turns out that Keir or the team in Number 10 knew and appointed him anyway, then there was no way I was going to stand up to defend that. And so I was on the train going back to London thinking, if they knew that, I’m going to resign today.”
The government ultimately claimed Starmer did not know, so Jones stayed on. Instead, Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, Olly Robbins, both lost their jobs.
Shehab also pressed Jones on his personal relationship with Lord Mandelson after personal messages between the pair were released. Jones admitted that he “regrets” reaching out to Lord Mandelson after he had been sacked, but said that “context matters”.
In the wide-ranging interview, Jones also talks about:
Keir Starmer’s handling of Gaza
The freebies scandal and ‘rookie errors’ that led to Starmer’s demise
His explosive first-day intervention over Andy Burnham’s electricity bills policy
Whether the government can move quickly enough to deal with rapidly developing AI models.
Paid subscribers can watch the full interview above. Free subscribers can watch a five-minute preview.
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