Starmer’s Mandelson nightmare never ends. This time, it may cost him his job as UK leader

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer probably wishes he had never heard of Peter Mandelson.

Starmer is again facing questions about his future. And again, this is about his ill-advised decision to appoint someone who claimed to be convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s “best friend” to the most lucrative job in UK diplomacy: ambassador to the US.

It was his decision that was at stake two months ago, when he was last put in jeopardy due to his appointment in late 2024. That’s enough for some in the Labor Party, including its leader in Scotland, to urge him to stand down.

He now faces accusations that Mandelson misled Parliament about how he overcame official hurdles to get the job in the first place.

If he is found to have done this, he will be in a very weak position; especially as Starmer puts integrity at the heart of his pitch to British voters to replace the scandal-plagued Conservatives in the July 2024 election.

“Starmer, in stark contrast to Boris Johnson, for example, presented himself as a man who always followed the rules and effectively came to power with the promise of ‘draining the swamp’,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.

“Therefore, the latest revelations in the diabolical mess of his ill-judged appointment of Peter Mandelson mean that many voters now see him not just as a liar but as a hypocrite – and hypocrisy is one of the worst sins any British politician can commit,” he added.

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On Thursday, The Guardian newspaper revealed that Mandelson was not initially given a security clearance for the job, from which he was fired nine months later. This is a problem for Starmer because he told Parliament that “full due process” had been observed.

The government stressed that Starmer and other ministers only learned earlier this week that the Foreign Office had given a different overall assessment. The impact has already led to the resignation of the State Department’s most senior civil servant, Olly Robbins.

Starmer is trying to fend off questions about what he did or didn’t know about the vetting process, which involved assessing Mandelson’s suitability for the role in light of questions about his finances, his relationships, including with Epstein, and his personality.

Starmer also faces accusations over whether he effectively instructed officials to allay concerns about Mandelson, 72.

Starmer said he was “absolutely furious” at being left in the dark and described it as “staggering” and “inexcusable”. He will make a statement to the Parliament on Monday.

Not Mandelson again

For all Starmer’s personal assessments and the expected heavy election defeats for Labor in a series of elections in May, the frenzy around his leadership was over. The decision not to involve Britain directly in the war in Iran was in line with the public mood.

Mandelson was a high-risk appointment, given that he twice resigned from Labor governments at the turn of the century over financial or ethical missteps and his acquaintance with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.

The calculation made by Starmer was apparently clear: the risk was worth it, as Mandelson’s lobbying skills and previous trade expertise would help persuade the Trump administration to rid Britain of some of the most burdensome tariffs.

This seemed to work, but by September 2025, the narrative changed following the release of emails showing Mandelson supporting Epstein even while facing prison for sex crimes. Although uncomfortable, Starmer hoped that the decision to fire Mandelson would resolve the matter.

However, the release of millions of pages of documents related to Epstein by the US Department of Justice in January put an end to this. Starmer’s political judgment was questioned after emails from the so-called Epstein Files suggested Mandelson passed sensitive – and potentially market-moving – government information to the disgraced financier when he was a member of the Labor government in 2009-2010.

Starmer has repeatedly apologized to the British public and victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking for believing what he called “Mandelson’s lies.”

British police subsequently launched a criminal investigation and searched two of Mandelson’s homes in London and western England. Mandelson was arrested on February 23 on suspicion of abuse of public office. He was released on bail the next morning after more than nine hours of interrogation. He has denied any wrongdoing and does not face allegations of sexual harassment.

Mandelson nightmare will continue

Starmer had hoped that his coolness on the Iran-related crisis would keep any leadership speculation in check, even in the event of his party’s expected defeat in the May election, Britain’s equivalent of the US by-elections.

This is a wish.

“This scandal is not ending,” said Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party. “There are no more people to fire, no place to hide, his authority is exhausted. He is in charge. His position is untenable and he must go.”

The main focus is on what Labor MPs think.

Starmer will gauge the mood when he makes a statement on Monday. So far, very few people in his party have said he should go. Labor MPs could be in real trouble if they now put their heads above the parapet after a weekend of campaigning in their local constituencies.

Trust in a leader can evaporate in an instant. Just ask Boris Johnson, who was elected with a huge majority in 2019 and resigned as both prime minister and MP three years later following a series of scandals.