Calls grow for Starmer to resign over Mandelson vetting, ex-Arsenal goalie dies in train crash

The front pages showed a government under pressure and a scandal that is not fading. Several papers led on calls for Sir Keir Starmer to resign over the Mandelson vetting row, a sign that the dispute has moved beyond a single appointment and into a wider argument about judgment, security checks and trust at the top of government.

The latest claims sharpened that pressure. Peter Mandelson was reported to have failed security clearance checks before formally taking up the Washington role in February 2025, and later government papers were said to show that Starmer knew Mandelson had remained in contact with Jeffrey Epstein before appointing him. The controversy has also widened to include allegations that Starmer misled Parliament over the appointment, while Mandelson was reported to have received a £75,000 taxpayer-funded settlement after being sacked.

That is why the row has proved so durable on the front pages. It is no longer just about one diplomat, or even one badly judged hire. It has become a test of whether Starmer’s government can convincingly explain how a man with such baggage passed into one of the most sensitive jobs in the state, then left with public money attached. The fact that the documents have now entered the story has only given the affair fresh oxygen.

The other major front-page story carried a very different tone, but it also landed with force. Alex Manninger, the former Arsenal and Liverpool goalkeeper, died aged 48 after his car was struck by a train at a level crossing near Salzburg, Austria, on Thursday, 16 April 2026, at about 8:20am local time. Salzburg police said the driver and passengers were unharmed, and Manninger was alone in the vehicle.

Arsenal said it was shocked and deeply saddened by his death. Manninger joined the club in 1997, made 39 Premier League appearances and was part of the Double-winning squad of 1997/98. He also played for Juventus, Torino, Bologna, Siena, Augsburg and Liverpool, and won 33 caps for Austria.

Taken together, the papers captured a country pulled between Westminster anger and sporting grief. But the Mandelson affair is the story with staying power. The resignation calls, the newly released documents and the accusations over what Starmer knew have turned it into a broader verdict on competence, vetting and the public’s right to expect better from government.