Sir Keir Starmer has urged Labour MPs to reject a bid for a parliamentary sleaze inquiry into the Lord Mandelson vetting row.
The Commons will vote on Tuesday on whether the Privileges Committee should consider if the Prime Minister misled the House over the way the former Labour grandee’s appointment as US ambassador was handled.
In a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday evening, 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 on Tuesday 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.”