ANGELA Rayner and Andy Burnham held a secret summit on Friday night – just as Sir Keir Starmer was battling to cling on to his scandal-hit premiership.
The bombshell revelation will fuel rumours the pair are hatching a plot and the PM could face a leadership challenge within weeks.
Sir Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham on a school visit Credit: MEN Media
SUPPLIED and BOOSTED Andy Burnham was seen outside Angela Rayner’s house for their secret summit Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
It comes as faces three days of turmoil as he is quizzed in Parliament over how Mandelson was allowed to be US ambassador after failing security vetting.
arrived at the constituency home Ashton in a silver Mercedes shortly before 6pm on Friday evening
The ambitious has already launched one failed bid to return to Parliament so he could have a shot at being PM – but was blocked by Sir Keir.
Ms Rayner is also understood to be secretly plotting her leadership bid – but does not believe she can run while HMRC are still investigating her tax affairs.
A senior Labour MP said: “They will be carving it up. If Andy endorsed Angela for leader that will sway a lot of MPs to back her.
“Then she could get him a seat in Parliament and bring him straight into Cabinet.”
Another Westminster insider said: “Everyone knows Angela and Andy both can’t run – they have to decide who is going to go for it.
“This is a nightmare for just as the Mandelson scandal comes back to haunt him.”
Bombshell photos of the summit emerged as premiership was thrown into turmoil at the news Mandelson was made US ambassador despite failing vetting.
The Foreign Office is said to have secretly overruled security concerns to rubber stamp the appointment.
insists he only discovered the truth on Tuesday night as is “furious” at the decision.
He fired Foreign Office bosswho he blames for the scandal.
Butfaces a “make or break” week ahead as he is hauled over the coals about who knew what when about the scandal.
He has to go to the Commons on Monday to be quizzed by furious MPs over the scandal.
The will once again protest that he was kept in the dark about the security concerns over appointment.
But he will admit that Parliament – like him – had a duty to be told far sooner about the bombshell revelation.
But he is set to be mauled by MPs, including Tory leader Kemi Badenoch who will once again call for the PM to leave.
Peter Mandelson walking his dog near Regents Park in London today as questions are asked about his failed vetting for the US ambassador job and who decided to over rule the security services Credit: Chris Eades
Keir Starmer is applauded by Peter Mandelson at Labour Party conference 2023 Credit: AFP
In an audacious move, she will stand at the dispatch box and directly appeal to fed-up Labour MPs to plunge the knife and topple Starmer as Labour leader and PM.
Jittery Labour chiefs are on high alert in case a Labour MP – perhaps a leftwinger like Clive Lewis – stands up and calls for the PM to go.
The following day, on Tuesday, it will be the turn of to have his say.
The axed mandarin – who has been away on holiday – is expected to appear at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee where he will launch a full-throttled defence of his actions.
Pals of told The Sun on Sunday he is “f**king furious” at how he has been treated.
His allies say the vetting process is not a “pass or fail” as No10 suggests, but raise specific concerns that are then mitigated.
They also point out that Mandelson’s appointment was political and announced by the before the vetting – despite concerns raised by officials in the Foreign Office.
Then on Wednesday the is set to have to endure a fiery PMQs, in which Kemi is expected to use Sir Olly evidence to twist the knife into the PM.
Writing in today’s Sun on Sunday, Tory Cabinet office chief Alex Burghart said: “The stench of scandal hangs heavily around this dying Government.
“With every passing day, the credibility of the Prime Minister declines even further.
“Cabinet Ministers are wheeled out to defend their leader. Senior civil servants are forced to carry the can and sacked. But it makes no difference.
“The public already knows the truth: has run out of road.”
Fed-up ministers branded the whole saga a “shitshow” and fear it will lead to an even greater hammering in local elections in May.
A minister said: “What an absolute clusterfuck.
“This whole saga is like a vampire, whenever you think it has finally died it comes back to life again.”
The frontbencher said Sir Keir may need to lay out a timeline to step down and hand over to a new leader at some point.
“Does he do a Tony Blair and say, I accept I can’t be leader of the party into the next general election but lets do this in an orderly way.
“But it’s a very bad time because of the Iran war.”
Another frontbencher said: “Monday is going to be sh**. It will be a big test for Keir and how he actually performs.”
One Labour MP: “While we are all fighting the locals – Downing Street is in chaos yet again.
“Voters are asking who is in charge. They want a Prime Minister, not a lame duck.”
Olly Robbins was sacked as head of the Foreign Office by Keir Starmer during a furious phone call on Thursday night Credit: Getty
Internal Labour polling predicts the party could lose around 2,000 councillors in the local elections on May 5.
Labour councils are expected to be demolished and turn Reform in the North East and Green in London.
Talk has turned once again to whether could face a leadership challenge after the elections.
Last night allies of Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham both furiously denied they are meeting up to plot a leadership challenge.
They insisted the two Manchester politicians are simply pals who talk regularly.
Last night there were reports that security vetting raised concerns about him having unsupervised contact with his former clients at Global Counsel.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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