Yesterday the PM was unable to put the fires out. Deadly Opposition from the Conservatives confronted Starmer with a motion he needed to vote down, demanding full publication of all the documents around Mandleson, his appointment and his tenure as Ambassador.
The PM realised his huge majority was not with him and he could not perform the usual routine business of voting down an Opposition motion. He decided to compromise by offering to publish much, but keeping under his officials the right to withold important documents they deemed to be important to national security and or international relations.
His rebellious party would not accept that. Livid with how their top people had landed them in a huge crisis, many demanded full disclosure. The Conservatives proposed letting the senior, confidential Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee read the relevant papers and decide which if any should not be published. By the time Angela Rayner agreed with this the PM had no option. The hapless Minister defending him in the Chamber tried the line it was too late to amend the motion, but the Speaker made clear he would take a late manuscript change to accommodate the obvious mood of the House.
This feels like a seismic explosion, a large fire engulfing this Administration. By appointing Mandleson the PM came to part own the Blair government, the great banking crash of 2008-9 and worse still for him the worrying emails,payments and deals surrounding Mandleson.
The police enquiry may take time and may dampen some speculation. The governing party looks gutted by what has happened and is in no mood to cover up or support. There will be plenty of stories about what did go on in the dying days of the Brown government and in the Oval Office under Starmer. It is deeply embarrassing for our country, and it has upset the crucial relationship with the US President. The last thing Donald Trump wanted was more discussion of Epstein.