Zia Yusuf Calls Starmer A Disgrace On BBC Question Time As Mandelson Scandal Deepens

Summary: Reform UK’s head of policy Zia Yusuf has torn into Sir Keir Starmer on BBC Question Time, branding the Prime Minister a “disgrace to his office” and calling for his resignation. According to the Daily Express, Yusuf accused Starmer of ignoring security advice and pressing ahead with Lord Mandelson’s US ambassador appointment despite knowing about his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

Reform UK Takes The Gloves Off On Prime Time TV

LATEST

Cooper rules out Lib Dem leadership tilt and backs Davey

Reform UK vows 30,000 officers and DEI ripped from policing

Appearing on BBC Question Time, Zia Yusuf did not mince his words. As reported by the Daily Express, the Reform UK figure told the audience that Sir Keir Starmer admitted in Parliament he knew Peter Mandelson had continued his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein even after Epstein became a convicted paedophile.

Yusuf said Starmer chose to ignore advice from security services and still appointed Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States. In his words, the responsibility does not stop with Mandelson alone. “The buck stops with the executive,” Yusuf said, branding the Prime Minister “a disgrace to his office” and demanding he resign.

The comments landed during another brutal day for a Prime Minister already fighting to hold his position.

Mandelson Appointment Now Central To Leadership Crisis

The attack follows Starmer’s public apology to Epstein’s victims, where he admitted believing Mandelson’s “lies” about the nature of his relationship with the disgraced financier. While Starmer framed the apology as an act of accountability, critics say it only underlined how badly judgment failed at the top.

Emails released by the US Department of Justice appear to show Mandelson forwarded potentially sensitive government information to Epstein while serving as business secretary under Gordon Brown. Mandelson maintains he did nothing criminal and denies acting for financial gain, a position noted by the BBC during the programme.

Police are now preparing to interview Mandelson, seek access to his devices, and take witness statements from senior Labour figures and civil servants from the period in question. That investigation has ensured the scandal remains live, not historical.

Pressure Builds On Starmer’s Inner Circle

Beyond the Prime Minister himself, anger is increasingly directed at Downing Street’s leadership team. MPs from across Labour have voiced a lack of confidence in Starmer’s advisers, with particular focus on chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who is blamed for pushing Mandelson’s appointment.

For many voters, Yusuf’s intervention on national television cut through because it echoed what people already suspect. This was not a paperwork error or a misunderstanding. It was a conscious decision taken despite warnings, red flags, and reputational risk to the country.

As more details emerge and police inquiries progress, Starmer’s apologies are colliding with a harsher political reality. The question now dominating Westminster is not whether the Mandelson scandal is damaging. It is whether Starmer can survive being seen as the man who signed it off.