The buck stops with you, Keir: PM’s own ministers turn on him and Labour MPs warn he MUST go now after his Mandelson ‘lies’ were sensationally exposed

Keir Starmer is struggling to hold on to No 10 today as he tries to blame the Foreign Office chief for the Peter Mandelson investigation scandal.

The Prime Minister sent his close ally Darren Jones this morning to condemn Britain’s top diplomat Olly Robbins, who was effectively sacked last night.

The cabinet minister insisted Sir Keir had no idea until Tuesday this week that Mandelson had failed his vetting, saying it was ‘beyond unacceptable’ and that Sir Olly had left his post because he had ‘lost the trust’ of the prime minister.

But Sir Keir, who will later be in Paris for a summit on the Middle East crisis, faces growing clamor for his own resignation, with even Labor MPs privately warning he may not survive.

Kemi Badenoch said the Prime Minister was “lying” and “taking us for fools”. ‘All roads lead to resignation,’ he said. Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey said Downing Street was ‘running out of money’.

Sir Keir had previously stated that Mandelson had undergone a security clearance and told the House of Commons that ‘due process’ was being followed. He did not mention the bombshell developments at Wednesday’s PMQs.

Mr Jones denied the Prime Minister would have to resign for misleading Parliament and confirmed Sir Keir would make a statement to MPs on Monday.

As Mandelson fury turns to Labor again:

• Questions have been raised about when Sir Olly will make a big profit, with Mr Jones admitting vetting procedures were followed;
• Whitehall departments were banned from proceeding with appointments contrary to the inquiry’s recommendation, as was the case in other cases;
• Sir Keir is accused of breaching the ministerial code by not warning MPs about the review beforehand.

Sir Keir previously stated that Mandelson (pictured) had passed his security clearance and told the House of Commons that ‘due process’ was followed.

The Prime Minister sent his close ally Darren Jones this morning to condemn Britain’s top diplomat Olly Robbins, who was effectively sacked last night.

The Minister told LBC: ‘Given the nature of the problem here, not just in terms of appointment but also the position that he has put the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers in as a result of the decision to override the recommendation of the UK Security Review, and the fact that the system even allowed this to happen in the first place, this is a problem on a scale that we have not experienced before in government.

‘This is unacceptable.’

Asked on BBC Breakfast whether the Prime Minister would resign and whether he had knowingly or unknowingly misled MPs, Mr Jones said “no”.

‘The Prime Minister was right… because the security and vetting process had been carried out and the Foreign Office had granted what is called enhanced review status to allow Peter Mandelson to be appointed, so he had gone through that process and had been cleared by the Foreign Office to assume office, so the Prime Minister was right about that,’ he said.

‘What the Prime Minister was not told until Tuesday evening this week was that the Foreign Office’s decision to grant this enhanced review status and appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador was against the advice of security and review officials.’

He told Sky News that despite security officials recommending that Mandelson be denied enhanced review status, he was allowed to see the most sensitive documents..

But the mood in Labor circles remains bleak, despite reluctance to act against the Prime Minister amid the turmoil of war in Iran and looming local elections. “The situation is getting worse,” one MP told the Daly Mail.

Another Labor MP told i: ‘I can’t understand how Starmer got away with this.’

An unnamed minister told the Times: ‘This is a tipping point. There can be no excuses anymore; We’re past the apologies and there can’t be another downfall in Olly Robbins form. ‘The Prime Minister must go.’

Another minister admitted the ‘safer ground’ Sir Keir found due to the international crisis had been lost.

Sir Keir named Mandelson the UK’s man in Washington in December 2024. No10 ignored warnings about the friend’s friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, while ‘senior figures’ at the Foreign Office were said to ‘advise against’ giving the role to someone who has twice been forced to resign from the Cabinet.

The following month, Sir Olly was appointed permanent secretary of the Foreign Office, assisting the then Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

Remarkably, Mandelson, nicknamed the Prince of Darkness, only faced scrutiny for this job after he was publicly given the job.

And yesterday it emerged that the UK Security Review (UKSV), a division of the Cabinet Office that examines the backgrounds of prospective civil servants, had turned him down.

Mandelson’s allies insisted he did not know that UKSV had recommended he be denied permission. It is also unclear why they made this suggestion.

Faced with a dilemma, given that his appointment had been announced, State Department officials invoked rarely used powers to override the recommendation.

The department concealed the failure after Mandelson was sacked in September last year amid new information about his links to Epstein.

Mr Jones insisted Sir Keir had no idea Mandelson had failed his vetting until Tuesday this week, saying it was ‘beyond unacceptable’.

Kemi Badenoch says Sir Keir has ‘nobody left to fire’ and should leave

Emily Thornberry, chair of the Labor Party’s foreign affairs committee, also expressed anger at being ‘kept in the dark’

Sir Olly signed off on Lord Mandelson’s £75,000 payout following his resignation, claiming it was ‘good value for money’.

Ms Cooper and Sir Olly, who is now the Foreign Secretary, wrote to the foreign affairs committee saying the security investigation had been carried out ‘to the usual standard’. They added that this ‘resulted in the issuance of DV permission by the FCDO’.

He did not state that UKSV did not give him permission. It is unknown why Mandelson failed the checks, but the process involves disclosing personal information, including financial and sexual history.

Following his wife’s departure, Sir Olly was also grilled by the foreign affairs select committee and once again failed to explain the review debacle.

Nigel Farage told LBC: ‘None of this makes sense, the idea that they weren’t told about the review.

‘Remember, in the House of Commons Starmer said the inquiry had told him about the ongoing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, he later gave a speech outside the House in Hastings and said Mandelson had cleared the security clearance.

‘They’re all over the place on this, it’s completely unbelievable and Robbins, he’s the sacrificial lamb trying to save the Prime Minister and that’s not good enough.’