York MP Rachael Maskell has “there’s something rotten in the culture” at 10 Downing Street and demanded an enquiry.
And she said Sir Keir Starmer has to consider whether he’s up to the job of Prime Minister.
Ms Maskell was responding after Paul Ovenden, No 10’s director of strategy, resigned yesterday after “appalling and unacceptable” remarks he’d made about Labour MP Diane Abbott in 2017 came to light.
It follows Angela Rayner resigning in a row over tax paid on her seaside home, and Lord Peter Mandelson being sacked as ambassador to Washington by the Prime Minister for his links to the paedophile US financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Ms Maskell said Mr Ovenden’s remarks showed “racism and misogyny” that was “despicable”.
Asked on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning (Tuesday) what it said about Mr Starmer that he’d appointed Mr Ovenden, she said: “It says there is something rotten in the culture which is festering around Number 10, and that’s why I’ve called for an independent investigation.
“We need to know what is happening, who is making decisions about what and when.”
Ms Maskell, who was ejected from the Labour parliamentary party after rebelling on welfare reforms, said the party was in trouble.
“We’ve seen the polls, and ultimately we saw people on our streets last weekend, the disaffected people that feel that they haven’t got a political home in Labour, those people that Labour would have traditionally represented, and we need to, as a party, get back into those traditions – that broad church.”
She stopped short of calling on Keir Starmer to resign as Prime Minister but said he needed to think about whether he could make the change she feels is needed.
“He will come to the conclusion he either has the skill sets to pivot or doesn’t have that skill set. And that is his determination now as leader of the Labour Party.”
Asked whether there’s evidence he could make that “pivot”, Ms Maskell said: “He hasn’t demonstrated that to date.
“I want him to demonstrate that because this is about the future of our country and to make sure that our politics are safe into the longer term.
“So it’s absolutely crucial that Labour build that broad base now and ensure that we are not a factional party, but one for the whole country.”
