𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Sir Keir Starmer’s hands were either shaking with anxiety or anger when he updated the Commons on Peter Mandelson today, a body language expert said. The Prime Minister told MPs the former Labour peer who he appointed US ambassador had betrayed the UK as he appeared in Parliament for the first time since the scandal erupted.

The PM appeared visibly shaken as he was interrogated by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (February 4). Sir Keir appeared to try and steady his hands as he explained the process surrounding a probe into documents about Lord Mandelson’s appointment would not be political.

Body language expert, Judi James, told the Daily Express Sir Keir’s left hand appeared to be shaking and he used his other hand to “self-police” the symptom of nervousness or anxiety.

She said Sir Keir appeared aware of the problem and clamped or suppressed the shaking to conceal it.

Ms James said: “His right elbow leans on the dispatch box, which might allow it to be more grounded and supported and therefore less shaky. It’s his left hand held in the air to use for gesticulation that appears to cause the problem here.

“With the left hand held in a cupped shape, the thumb is held at an angle where it begins to be visibly shaky. Starmer first attempts to control this by folding the thumb inward and then tries to hold the hand in a ‘precision pinch’ gesture to imply precise, forensic thinking and evaluation.”

Ms James continued: “In the next clip, the shaking looks more obvious as he lays his left hand onto the dispatch box with the fingers extended, and there seems to be some more visible shaking here. Again he appears to want to control the shaking, bringing his right hand in and placing it over the top of the left.

“Shaking hands can be caused by a variety of emotions, from anxiety and fear to anger. The usual perception is that it is anxiety-based in a scenario like this when a politician is put under pressure, although the idea of suppressed anger perhaps shouldn’t be ruled out.”

The appointment of Lord Mandelson to the US ambassador position has raised serious doubts about the Prime Minister’s judgement.

Sir Keir told the Commons on Wednesday that he knew about Lord Mandelson’s ongoing friendship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when he appointed him ambassador, but claimed the former Labour peer “lied repeatedly” about the extent of the relationship.

In a sign of Labour anger over the scandal, the Prime Minister was forced into a climbdown over the release of documents relating to the appointment.

Sir Keir had wanted top civil servant Sir Chris Wormald to decide what documents could not be released on national security grounds or because they could prejudice international relations.

But under pressure from Labour MPs, led by former deputy leader Angela Rayner, he accepted the decision could be made by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) instead.

Lord Mandelson, a political appointment rather than a career diplomat, was sacked from his Washington role in September last year over his links with Epstein, who died in 2019.

His continued association with Epstein after the billionaire financier was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor had been widely reported before his return to the political frontline. Lord Mandelson was named as ambassador in 2024.

Documents released as part of the US Department of Justice’s Epstein Files appear to show Lord Mandelson passed potentially market-sensitive information to his friend in 2009, while he was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government.

Lord Mandelson has yet to speak publicly. He has quit the House of Lords and he is set to lose his position as a privy counsellor, which allows him to be described as “right honourable”.