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Keir Starmer faces a fresh challenge from Andy Burnham, who hopes the Mandelson scandal will provide a chance for him to return to Westminster as an MP, according to reports. Sir Keir previously convinced Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to block Mr Burnham’s attempt to become Labour’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

But the prime minister’s position has been weakened by the revelation that Peter Mandelson failed the vetting process – before being appointed UK ambassador to Washington anyway. And his authority is set to be dented further if Labour suffers losses in May 7 local elections as expected.

Mr Burnham’s allies hope the Prime Minister could lose his majority on the NEC, according to reports.

And this could provide a change for Mr Burnham, currently the Greater Manchester mayor, to become a Parliamentary candidate. As an MP, he would be in prime position to challenge Sir Keir for the Labour leadership.

Other supporters of Mr Burnham have insisted he is getting on with his job in Manchester and not taking part in speculation about Sir Keir.

It was reported that the mayor, a former Labour Health Secretary, has also held meetings with the party’s former Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, raising the prospect of the pair joining forces to challenge the Prime Minister.

Sir Keir has claimed he was not told by Sir Olly Robbins, the now-sacked Foreign Office official, that he had overruled security advice on Lord Mandelson. The Prime Minister said he was “absolutely furious” and the senior civil servant’s failure to inform him was “staggering”.

One Labour MP told the Financial Times: “There is a whole slate of NEC posts up for grabs in the autumn and you’ll see a shift to the Left and away from Starmer loyalists, and after that, it’ll be harder to stop Burnham coming back to Westminster.”