UK PM seeks to deflect blame over Mandelson appointment
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has blamed foreign ministry officials for the appointment of the US ambassador, saying they withheld information about Labor veteran Peter Mandelson that could have halted his employment.
Starmer, who has been under pressure from political opponents to resign over the scandal, has repeatedly tried to defend his role in Mandelson’s appointment and appealed to parliament, claiming he was unaware that Foreign Office officials had been advised not to grant him security clearance.
He again said he regretted appointing Mandelson, whom he dismissed in September after the depth of his ties to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed.
The incidents raised questions about the prime minister’s decision, which resurfaced last week when the government said it had learned Mandelson had failed the vetting process.
On Monday, Starmer again expressed anger over the failure of foreign office officials to say they had ignored the advice in January 2025 and decided to grant Mandelson a status known as “enhanced review” clearance, which allows individuals to access information considered top secret.
Starmer told MPs: “It beggars belief that throughout the entire timeline of events, officials at the foreign office saw fit to keep this information from the most senior ministers in our system of government.”
“The vast majority of people in this country do not expect politics, government or accountability to work that way.”
The appointment, once hailed as a genius move to recruit a Labor veteran with business experience who could win the support of new US President Donald Trump, has turned into an ongoing nightmare for Starmer.
Starmer said he would not have appointed Mandelson if he had known that the UK’s Security Review body had advised him not to obtain the necessary clearance, preventing him from going against such advice in the future.
Starmer, whose popularity has waned since Labor won an overwhelming majority in the 2024 general election, had previously told parliament that the full legal process was being followed regarding Mandelson.
Last week, Starmer sacked Britain’s top foreign office official, Olly Robbins, after it emerged that the Foreign Office had overruled a warning against appointing Mandelson. The Prime Minister said he had signed a declaration clearing Mandelson’s vetting process.
Robbins has yet to make a formal statement on his dismissal, but friends have reportedly said he followed the usual procedure that allows the foreign office to overrule the recommendation from the UK Security Review.
Opponents accuse Starmer of lying and incompetence and say his position is no longer tenable.
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, accused Starmer of failing to face the consequences of his action.
“It’s how you confront those mistakes that shows the character of a leader,” he told parliament.
“Instead of taking responsibility for the decisions he made, the Prime Minister threw his team and staff under the bus.”
After Starmer’s two-and-a-half-hour question-and-answer session, many questions remained unanswered, including why Mandelson failed the review and whether officials felt political pressure to confirm the appointment.
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson and Your Party MP Zarah Sultana were removed from the House of Commons for accusing Starmer of lying.
House of Commons rules prevent MPs from accusing each other of lying or deliberately misleading each other.
with PA
