Oxfordshire's two Labour MPs have spoken out amid the fallout from the Peter Mandelson scandal.
Sir Keir Starmer has come under pressure to quit as Prime Minister after Mr Mandelson's appointment to Washington as British ambassador, despite his links to Jeffrey Epstein being known.
Sean Woodcock, Labour MP for Banbury, voiced his support for the Prime Minister on social media platform X on Monday (February 9).
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He said: "18 months ago, we were given a task by the electorate.
"To end years of Tory psychodrama, provide our country with stability and the change that our country voted for. Our constituents want us to focus on delivering those things.
Sean Woodcock MP (Image: Contributed)
"That's why I remain firmly behind the PM."
18 months ago, we were given a task by the electorate.
To end years of Tory psychodrama, provide our country with stability and the change that our country voted for.
Our constituents want us to focus on delivering those things.
That's why I remain firmly behind the PM.— Sean Woodcock MP (@SEANLWOODCOCK) February 9, 2026
Anneliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East, did not comment when approached by this newspaper on Thursday (February 5).
However, speaking on The Week in Westminster on Radio 4 at the weekend, she said: “Epstein’s crimes were appalling and my thoughts are with all of his victims.
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"It is right that the Prime Minister has apologised to these women for the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US.
"It is imperative that now, all information relating to this appointment are released to the public and where relevant the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), and I will be following this closely as you would expect.”
Ms Dodds did not comment when asked if she backs Sir Keir.
Anneliese Dodds MP (Image: File)
In his first public comments since Labour’s Scottish leader Anas Sarwar called for him to quit, Sir Keir hit out at infighting within the party.
Speaking at an event in Hertfordshire on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the political "turmoil" would not stop him focusing on tackling cost-of-living pressures and improving opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He said: “I am their Prime Minister, and this is their Government and I will never give up on that fight.
“There are some people in recent days who say the Labour Government should have a different part, a fight with itself, instead of a fight for the millions of people who need us to fight for them.
“And I say to them: I will never walk away from the mandate I was given to change this country.
“I will never walk away from the people that I’m charged with fighting for and I will never walk away from the country that I love.”
Sir Keir said he had the “most working-class cabinet” in history but it was “utter nonsense” to suggest that means everyone from a poorer background gets a fair chance in life.
He reflected on the difficulties faced by his brother as he set out why he was so determined to fight on in No 10.
Sir Keir’s younger brother Nick died aged 60 in 2024.
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The Prime Minister said: “He had difficulties learning when he was growing up, he spent his adult life wandering from job to job in virtual poverty.
“This system, this political system, didn’t work for him and there are billions of people in the same boat, children in poverty, young people who don’t get the opportunities they deserve.
“Millions of people held back because of a system that doesn’t work for them, who are not given the dignity, the respect, the chance that they deserve.
“And I’m fighting for them. I am their Prime Minister, and this is their Government and I will never give up on that fight.”
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