The prime minister has refused to step down, claiming he was unaware Peter Mandelson, a friend of the convicted sex trafficker, had failed his security vetting<\/p>\n
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing new calls to resign after it was confirmed that disgraced former British Ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson had been appointed despite not being cleared by security officials.
\nMandelson, who was London\u2019s envoy in Washington between February and September 2025, was arrested earlier this year over allegations that he leaked sensitive British government data to late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
\nThe media claimed he continued friendly relations with Epstein even after the disgraced financier\u2019s imprisonment in 2008, while also receiving money from him.
\nThe Guardian reported on Thursday that Mandelson had failed the vetting by the Cabinet Office in 2024, but the Foreign Office ignored its recommendations and still made the 72-year-old ambassador.
\nDowning Street confirmed the report, but stressed that Starmer, who previously assured the parliament that \u201cdue process\u201d had been followed in the envoy\u2019s appointment, was unaware of Mandelson\u2019s security clearance problems.<\/p>\n
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On Thursday, top Foreign Office civil servant Olly Robbins was sacked over the scandal. He has been formally asked to give evidence on Mandelson\u2019s vetting on Tuesday.
\nConservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch told BBC that it was \u201ccompletely preposterous\u201d for the Labour government to claim that Starmer didn\u2019t know about the situation.\u201cThis story does not stack up. The prime minister is taking us for fools. All roads lead to a resignation,\u201d she stressed.
\nEd Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, insisted that Starmer \u201cmust go\u201d if he really misled the parliament and the public.
\nStarmer is refusing to step down, telling journalists on Friday that he was \u201cabsolutely furious\u201d over not having been informed about Mandelson\u2019s failed vetting, calling it \u201cstaggering\u201d and \u201cunforgivable.\u201d He promised to address the lawmakers on Monday to \u201cset out all the relevant facts in true transparency.\u201d
\nHowever, the British media appears to be unconvinced by the prime minister\u2019s excuses. On Friday, The Times warned about \u201ca new crisis for Starmer, whose premiership almost collapsed over the Mandelson scandal in February.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Trump\u2019s ex-attorney general spared Epstein grilling, sparking cover-up claims<\/p>\n
The headline in the Daily Mail read: \u201cStarmer on brink as his Mandelson \u2018lies\u2019 are exposed,\u201d while the Express insisted that the prime minister \u201cmust resign after blatant lies to MPs.\u201d The Telegraph described the PM\u2019s position as \u201cscarcely credible,\u201d adding that \u201che cannot survive.\u201d
\nThe Mandelson affair has already dealt a heavy blow to Starmer\u2019s team, with his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, quitting in February after taking the blame for the appointment of an envoy with known links to Epstein.
\nMcSweeney\u2019s departure was followed by that of the prime minister\u2019s communications director, Tim Allan, who said he was stepping down to allow Starmer to build a \u201cnew team.\u201d
\nThe British royal family and Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III, have also been hit by the new trove of Epstein documents. Already stripped of his titles over his ties to the late sex offender, the ex-prince is now facing allegations of \u201cmisconduct in public office\u201d due to allegedly supplying Epstein with sensitive documents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The prime minister has refused to step down, claiming he was unaware Peter Mandelson, a friend of the convicted sex trafficker, had failed his security vetting UK Prime Minister Keir…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33444,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t