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Sir Keir Starmer has urged Labour MPs to vote against a parliamentary probe into the Lord Mandelson vetting row. In a showdown on Tuesday, the Commons will debate whether the Privileges Committee should consider whether the Prime Minister misled the House over the former Labour grandee's appointment as ambassador to the US.

At a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday, Sir Keir said: "I have responsibility for being totally transparent with you, with Parliament and the British public. I take that very seriously as well. But this is not about a lack of transparency.

"This is a political stunt by our opponents who want to bring us down, obscure our message, stop us getting on with our work.

"And the timing tells you everything, nine days before local elections."

He claimed the Conservatives had put forward "totally baseless" and "absolutely ridiculous" accusations against him and insisted the motion was "pure politics", adding: "We need to stand together against it."

Sir Keir added: "When we stick together and fight together, we are so much stronger."

The Prime Minister has been accused of misleading MPs by saying that "full due process" was followed in appointing Lord Mandelson, who was given the plum role despite failing security checks.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle announced the debate and vote after demands from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and other senior MPs.

The committee was responsible for Boris Johnson's exit from frontline politics after it investigated him for misleading the House over the Partygate saga.