At the heart of all this, there is also an error in judgment on my part. I should not have named Peter Mandelson. I take responsibility for this decision, and I apologize again to the victims of the pedocriminal Jeffrey Epstein,” he declared before the House of Commons. Keir Starmer has been weakened for several months due to his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington before dismissing him last September. He accused him of “lying deliberately” about the extent of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, convicted in 2019.
The shadows of the security vetting process
The issue resurfaced on Thursday when the newspaper “The Guardian” revealed that the Foreign Office had granted Peter Mandelson security clearance for this position in January 2025, despite an unfavorable opinion from the background checking service. Keir Starmer claims he was not informed of this unfavorable opinion until last Tuesday.
“If I had known, before Peter Mandelson took up his position, that the background checking service’s opinion was to deny security clearance, I would not have proceeded with this appointment,” he assured. “This opinion should have been communicated,” added the Labour leader, who deemed it “unacceptable” and “unforgivable” to have been kept in the dark. In February, he had declared to the deputies that “all required procedures” had been followed when reviewing Peter Mandelson’s file.
“Downing Street has acknowledged that the Prime Minister inadvertently misled the House of Commons,” said Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, calling on Keir Starmer to “correct the facts as soon as possible.” Like other opposition leaders, she has called for the resignation of the Prime Minister, who came to power in July 2024 with a very large majority.
Reshuffle and tensions within the administration
The Prime Minister asserts that his ministers and Downing Street were also kept in the dark. He reproaches the Foreign Office services for authorizing the appointment despite this unfavorable opinion. A few hours after the revelations from “The Guardian” on Thursday night, Keir Starmer dismissed the top civil servant in charge of the diplomatic service, Olly Robbins. Robbins will be able to present his version of the facts on Tuesday when he speaks before a parliamentary committee. Several former senior officials have accused Keir Starmer of making Olly Robbins a scapegoat, while his government team has defended the Prime Minister.
Scottish Affairs Minister Douglas Alexander explained on Monday morning what led to the initial choice of Peter Mandelson, rather than a more traditional diplomat profile. “The reasoning was that the Trump administration was atypical and an atypical ambassador could fulfill this mission for the UK,” he said, adding that “this assessment was erroneous.” David Lammy, who was Foreign Secretary at the time of the appointment, also claimed not to have been aware of the unfavorable opinion.
A politically fragile context for Labour
Keir Starmer had been warned of the “reputational risk” posed by Peter Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein before appointing him, according to official documents published in March. The Mandelson affair has already cost the chief of staff and the communications director their jobs. The Labour leader is facing 61% of unfavorable opinions, according to the latest YouGov poll.
