British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under renewed pressure, with opposition figures calling for his resignation following fresh revelations tied to the appointment of Peter Mandelson.
The controversy centres on Mandelson’s stint as the UK’s ambassador to the United States.
It has now emerged that he failed a security vetting process before taking up the role yet was still allowed to proceed with the appointment.
The situation escalated further after Mandelson was later dismissed, with Starmer accusing him of misleading the government about the nature of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
According to the government, Starmer was not aware that officials at the Foreign Office had overridden the failed vetting decision.
However, the fallout has been swift, with the department’s top civil servant, Olly Robbins, expected to step down after reportedly losing the prime minister’s confidence.
Critics, though, are not letting Starmer off the hook. Ed Davey said the prime minister cannot shift responsibility onto aides, arguing that accountability ultimately rests with him.
“I don’t think the prime minister can get out of this by sacking officials,” Davey said, adding that Starmer may have misled parliament and the public a claim the government strongly denies.
Starmer has already apologised for the appointment but insists he acted in good faith. He has described Mandelson’s conduct as a “litany of deceit” and promised to release documents detailing how the appointment was handled.
Senior minister Darren Jones backed the prime minister, saying Starmer was “furious” upon learning that the vetting concerns had been overridden.
He maintained that while the process may have been flawed, it does not call the prime minister’s position into question.
Meanwhile, Mandelson is also facing a separate police investigation over allegations that he leaked government documents to Epstein.
He has not publicly responded to those claims.
With pressure mounting and more details expected to emerge, the issue is set to return to parliament, where Starmer is due to address lawmakers in the coming days.
