The Prime Minister’s ethics advisor has turned down a request from the Conservatives for an inquiry into the botched appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart had called for an inquiry into the appointment.
However, the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards Sir Laurie Magnus has rejected the request from the senior Tory.
He wrote: “It is not within my remit to investigate the actions or decisions taken by particular departments, or by the Government more broadly”.
Sir Keir and Peter Mandelson
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Energy minister Michael Shanks rejected any suggestion of a “cover-up” in Sir Keir Starmer’s handling of the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal.
Mr Shanks told Sky News: “There’s been no cover-up at all, Downing Street is releasing the documents.
“Unfortunately, there are elements of those documents that currently, because of the Metropolitan Police investigation, not everything has been published, but it will be.
“We will comply with exactly what we said in Parliament we would comply with.”
Lord Mandelson has been reported to the police | GETTY
Lord Mandelson was arrested on February 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, having been accused of passing sensitive information on to Jeffery Epstein during his time as business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government.
He was subsequently bailed, but later released from his bail conditions, although he remains under investigation.
On Thursday, Sir Keir took responsibility for the “mistake” of appointing the peer, but Downing Street denied suggestions of a “cover-up” and said that no notes by the Prime Minister were redacted.
“There are a range of different ways in which the Prime Minister’s senior team responds to advice,” his official spokesman said.
James Cleverley and Kemi Badenoch has slammed the appointment
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Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly said the Government had published the “wrong versions of the documents.”
He told Times Radio: “There are documents that are clearly withheld…we don’t know what the contents of those documents are.
“At some point in the future, they may well be released, but the documents that have been put in the public domain are the wrong versions of the documents.
“They are the documents that give advice from the officials, but not the decisions from ministers. And as the opposition, our job is to hold ministers to account, including the Prime Minister. The fact is we have been denied access to the full disclosure.”