Starmeroid would-be leader Darren Jones cosied up to Mandelson

Bristol Labour MP Darren Jones is a Starmer clone, heavily funded by discredited sabotage group ‘Labour Together.’ Jones, currently Keir Starmer’s ‘chief secretary,’ reportedly hopes to replace his boss. But he has now been exposed as no better than his current party leader on the disgraced Peter Mandelson.

Mandelson was finally sacked as UK ambassador to the US in late 2025 over his closeness to Israeli spy and serial child rapist Jeffrey Epstein. He has since been shown to have repeatedly sent lucrative confidential ‘insider trading’ information to Epstein. Mandelson’s disgrace has brought Starmer to the brink of downfall.

Jones had claimed he had nothing to disclose because he no longer had the phone containing the messages. However, the government has held some of these. The Starmer government initially withheld them from the public alongside similar messages from Starmer. However, it has now released some of Jones’s messages as part of a partial release in response to a parliamentary motion.

Jones had claimed he had nothing to disclose because he no longer had the phone containing the messages. However, the government has held some of these. The Starmer governmentinitially withheld them from the public alongside similar messages from Starmer. However, it has now released some of Jones’s messages as part of a partial release in response to a parliamentary motion.

Gushing and hiding

Jones’s messages reveal a fanboyish effusiveness to Mandelson. This is reminiscent of Mandelson’s own ardour for the US paedophile that triggered his downfall. When Mandelson was appointed, Jones gushed:

You’ll be brilliant in challenging circumstances. And after many years of discussions, we get to work side by side. I really look forward to that.

And after Mandelson’s removal, “You’ve been doing such a great job,” he oozed, “and you worked wonders with Trump. I’m so sorry about today.” Jones also insulted other government figures and listed an array of top government jobs he was eyeing for himself in Starmer’s reshuffle – including business and defence.

But on Wednesday 3 June 2026, Jones opted to hide behind Mandelson’s refusal to disclose his own messages, telling MPs:

The only person who could release those messages, if they had them, would be Peter Mandelson, who has refused to disclose his phone to the process.

The dire Jones has a long record of weasel-like behaviour on top of his closeness to the now-rebranded Labour Together. He made plans in 2018 to stand against Labour rather than face deselection by disgusted party members. He told Wales to be more grateful for the pittance it receives from Westminster. And, of course, despite his supposed loyalty to Starmer he was caught canvassing support for his own leadership bid.

MPs have complained that many other Mandelson-linked messages are still being unnecessarily withheld. In keeping with his evasion tactics, Jones blamed an ongoing police investigation for the secrecy. But he admitted that he had cosied up to Mandelson “at best” because Mandelson was “influential”. But he still couldn’t talk straight, constantly trying to qualify and dilute his involvement:

Did I at best treat Peter Mandelson differently because I perceived him to have influence and power in the Labour party? I think the answer to that is yes, I did. Have I benefited from that relationship? I think in part the answer to that is yes. And for that I would like to apologise to the house, the [Epstein] victims … and commit to doing something about it.

Featured image via the Canary