Cabinet minister Darren Jones said there is “no case to answer” when asked about a potential referral of Sir Keir Starmer to a sleaze inquiry amid the ongoing fallout over Lord Peter Mandelson’s vetting.
The Tories have called for Sir Keir to face the Privileges Committee over allegations he misled Parliament about Lord Mandelson.
Mr Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, said it is for House Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to decide whether a vote on such a move is something that goes ahead.
He also accused the Conservatives of “using tactics” ahead of local elections.
The minister told the BBC’s Sunday Morning With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “You have to remember, what are these privileges committees about? The last time it was used was when Boris Johnson told the House of Commons there were no parties in Downing Street.
“It was then shown he was at five of them and got a fine from the police.
“That’s what these processes are in place for, so the Opposition are just using tactics to try to distract from the fact that the Government is doing good work in this pre-election period.”
Asked if it would be right to have the investigation and clear up different interpretations of what has happened, Mr Jones added: “As far as I understand the case, there is no case to answer.”
Labour’s huge majority in the Commons means such a vote would almost certainly not pass, but it could still be damaging for the Prime Minister.
The shadow home secretary called for an investigation by the Privileges Committee.
Chris Philp told the BBC documents on Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US are being released “because of a vote that we scheduled in Parliament a few months ago, which forced them out”.
He added: “Now we need the Privileges Committee to investigate whether Keir Starmer misled Parliament, which he appears to have done.
“Frankly, Keir Starmer should resign because he appointed Mandelson in the first place, which is a terrible, terrible misjudgment – a man with links to Russia and China and Jeffrey Epstein.
“If he doesn’t, Labour backbenchers and ministers should develop a backbone and get rid of him.”
Sir Keir has faced mounting pressure over the latest scandal over the peer’s appointment as ambassador to Washington and his handling of it, including his decision to sack Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins.
The Prime Minister said this week any claims he misled Parliament had been put to bed by Sir Olly’s evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee.
He insisted Sir Olly faced only the “everyday pressure of Government” to clear Lord Mandelson for the role, in an interview with The Sunday Times.
Cabinet minister Mr Jones insisted there were “serious process failings” in the vetting of Lord Mandelson despite the Civil Service head of his department, Cat Little, saying due process had been followed.
“I think what my permanent secretary was talking about was that the established process from appointment to security vetting, the fact that in a business-as-usual appointment security recommendations are not given to ministers,” he said..
“But this was a different set of circumstances, this was a political appointment of Peter Mandelson to be the ambassador to the United States.”
Questions over the vetting scandal will carry on into next week when Sir Keir’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney is due to appear before the same committee of MPs.
Foreign Office official Ian Collard, who Sir Olly said briefed him on the vetting findings that deemed Lord Mandelson a borderline case and leaned towards recommending that clearance be denied, will give written evidence.
Sir Keir has faced calls to resign amid the fallout from the Lord Mandelson vetting scandal and Cabinet divisions are said to have emerged over his handling of the process, including his decision to sack Sir Olly.
