British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday placed responsibility on foreign ministry officials for the controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, saying critical information that could have blocked the decision was withheld from him.
Facing mounting pressure from political opponents to resign, Starmer told parliament he had not been informed that officials had been advised against granting Mandelson security clearance. He insisted that, had he known, the appointment would never have gone ahead.
The prime minister reiterated his regret over selecting Mandelson, whom he dismissed in September following revelations about his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The controversy has raised broader concerns about Starmer’s judgment, which intensified last week when the government disclosed that Mandelson had failed a security vetting process.
Starmer expressed particular anger that foreign office officials did not disclose that, in January 2025, they had overridden advice and granted Mandelson “developed vetting” clearance — a status allowing access to top-secret information.
“It beggars belief that throughout the whole timeline of events, officials in the foreign office saw fit to withhold this information from the most senior ministers in our system of government,” Starmer told lawmakers. “That is not how the vast majority of people in this country expect politics, government or accountability to work.”
Initially praised as a strategic move, Mandelson’s appointment was seen as a way to leverage his trade expertise and political experience to strengthen ties with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. However, the decision has since become a political liability for Starmer.
Trump himself weighed in on the controversy, writing on Truth Social that the appointment was a “really bad pick,” while noting there was still “plenty of time to recover.”
Starmer acknowledged he had exercised poor judgment, stating clearly that he would not have approved Mandelson’s appointment had he been aware that the UK Security Vetting unit advised against granting him clearance. He added that he has since implemented measures to prevent officials from overriding such advice in the future.
The scandal has deepened challenges for Starmer, whose popularity has declined since Labour’s landslide victory in the 2024 general election. Despite previously assuring parliament that due process had been followed, his office now says he acted without full knowledge of the facts.
“The prime minister would never knowingly mislead parliament or the public,” his spokesperson said. “He clearly did not have this information when he previously spoke to parliament.”
In response to the revelations, Starmer last week dismissed Olly Robbins, the UK’s top foreign ministry official, who had approved a statement indicating Mandelson passed vetting. Robbins has not publicly commented, though associates suggest he followed established procedures that allow officials to override vetting advice.
Opposition figures have seized on the crisis, accusing Starmer of dishonesty and incompetence. Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, criticized the prime minister in parliament.
“It is how you face up to those mistakes that shows the character of a leader,” Badenoch said. “Instead of taking responsibility for the decisions he made, the prime minister has thrown his staff and his officials under the bus.”
With local elections just three weeks away and Labour expected to face significant losses, the renewed focus on the scandal has raised fresh doubts about Starmer’s leadership. While no senior Labour figures have yet called for his resignation, the controversy continues to test his authority and political standing.
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