Starmer faces calls to resign as UK government admits ambassador to US failed vetting process
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer On Thursday, Peter Mandelson faced calls to resign after it was revealed he was denied security clearance for his ambassadorial post in the US and was eventually sacked due to his close links to the sex offender jeffrey epstein.
Following the statement in the Guardian newspaper, the government said Starmer was unaware that the Foreign Office had canceled the security review process for Mandelson to become the UK’s ambassador to Washington “until earlier this week”.
Starmer has previously insisted that due process was followed in the appointment and that Mandelson, who was fired in September 2025, lied about the extent of his connections to Epstein.
After Starmer was briefed, a government spokesman said the prime minister “immediately instructed officials to establish the facts of why enhanced scrutiny was granted in order to put in place plans to update the House of Commons”.
Opposition MPs said Starmer should resign if he misled Parliament.
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, said Starmer was “definitely in resignation territory”, while Ed Davey, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, said Starmer “must go” if he misled Parliament and lied to the British public.
Starmer’s premiership faced its biggest crisis in February. Release of millions of pages of Epstein-related documents A statement by the US Department of Justice showed the closeness of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein.
In particular, Starmer’s political judgment was called into question after emails in the Epstein files released by the US government suggested that Mandelson had passed sensitive – and potentially market-moving – government information to the disgraced financier in 2009, when he was a member of the Labor government.
Starmer repeatedly he apologized I thank the British public and the victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking for believing what he called “Mandelson’s lies.” In his apology, he said due diligence rules were followed, both inside and outside Parliament, regarding the appointment of someone to the post of US ambassador.
British police subsequently launched a criminal investigation. Two of Mandelson’s homes were searched In London and western England. It was Mandelson He was arrested on February 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was released on bail the next morning after more than nine hours of interrogation.
No charges were brought against Mandelson, who denied doing anything inappropriate.
Days before Mandelson’s arrest, formerly Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Prince AndrewHe was arrested on the same charge. Like Mandelson, King Henry III. Charles’ younger brother was also a close friend of Epstein.
In late 2024, Starmer appointed Mandelson to the ambassadorial post. Knowing her previous relationship with EpsteinWHO Died in prison in 2019. Mandelson’s trade expertise was seen as a key asset as he tried to persuade the Trump administration not to impose heavy tariffs on British goods, and it appeared to pay off when the countries reached a trade deal a few months later.
Starmer fired Mandelson in September after his links to Epstein were previously revealed.
british documents Documents released since the release of the Epstein files, including some related to the investigation process, confirmed Starmer chose Mandelson despite warnings that he could expose the government to “reputation risk”. The government said it would release a further set of documents regarding Mandelson’s appointment after being required to do so by Parliament.
