Keir Starmer faces moment of reckoning over Mandelson scandal: PM told to stop hiding behind officials and to finally accept culpability

Today Keir Starmer will be told to finally take responsibility for the Mandelson scandal and stop blaming everyone.

The Prime Minister will begin a make-or-break week of his faltering premiership by confronting MPs angry over his involvement in the ‘vulgar and disgraceful’ incident.

They want to know how he could make Peter Mandelson this country’s ambassador to the United States without knowing that he had failed his security clearance.

He has received calls to resign from Labor Party supporters and colleagues, as well as opposition party leaders, over his “catastrophic” wrong decisions.

But Sir Keir signaled he would not take the blame and told MPs last night he would make it ‘clear’ that he had been kept in the dark.

He will say that senior civil servant Sir Olly Robbins should have mentioned red flags raised over the controversial appointment, both at the time and later when he falsely assured the House of Commons that it had been done by the book. Sir Olly was sacked last week and asked to appear before the foreign affairs committee tomorrow.

Ministers insisted yesterday that Sir Keir would not have appointed Mandelson if he had known about the concerns raised.

But many in Westminster believe it was entirely the Prime Minister’s fault for giving Mandelson the prestigious post in Washington DC, despite his checkered past, and for failing to ask whether he had passed checks carried out by his Government’s own security services.

Last night Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch told him: ‘I believe we will look forward to a clear statement in which you will take the necessary responsibility, rather than blaming others and belittling the office of the Prime Minister.’

Sir Keir photographed with Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador’s residence in 2025

In a damning letter to No 10, he accused Sir Keir of failing to be open with MPs and of breaching the Ministerial Code by failing to disclose details of the investigation failure last Tuesday when told to do so.

Two of the country’s most senior civil servants have been aware of the debacle for weeks and critics say the Prime Minister could have addressed MPs much sooner, armed with all the facts. ‘There is no running away anymore. No more digressing. “Parliament and the public will want to hear that you have given us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth,” Ms Badenoch wrote.

He said the Mandelson affair was “absurd and disgraceful” overall and accused the Prime Minister of undermining national security as well as damaging Britain’s relations with the United States.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused Sir Keir of ‘catastrophically wrong judgment’ and said the failure to control the inquiry process was ‘totally incompetent’. The Liberal Democrats are calling for an investigation into the privileges committee by Sir Keir’s MPs, as well as an investigation by the Government’s ethics watchdog over alleged breaches of the Ministerial Code.

Labour’s Lord Glasman was the frontrunner to call for Sir Keir to resign yesterday, saying: ‘He is now considered unable to continue as a credible Prime Minister. And that’s because he can’t say, “I made a mistake, I’m sorry.”‘

Asked whether he would apologize to MPs last night, Sir Keir told the Mirror: ‘I will make it absolutely clear, as I have done on a number of occasions, that I was not told and should have been told that Peter Mandelson had failed his vetting – and I don’t think anyone disputes that.’

Science and Technology Minister Liz Kendall admitted ‘this whole feverish period has been an extremely challenging time’, but insisted: ‘Keir Starmer is my favorite as the Prime Minister to take us to the next election.’

Sir Olly is expected to give evidence to the foreign affairs committee tomorrow but as of last night he still had not responded to the invitation. Mandelson is thought to have sought legal advice after he was sacked by the Prime Minister after failing to admit allowing him to take on ambassadorial duties against the advice of UK Security Review officials.

Mandelson, pictured outside his London home, failed security clearance to become US ambassador

Sir Keir has signaled he will not take the blame and last night told MPs he would ‘clearly’ tell MPs he was being kept in the dark

Sir Keir told broadcasters he was ‘absolutely furious’ at the ‘staggering’ omission.

But Sir Olly’s allies insisted he was not allowed to tell anyone the results of the review study and so there was no reason for him to be sacked.

A former official told the Financial Times: ‘Starmer is looking for someone to blame other than himself.

‘This wasn’t just the shooting, it was the pile-up that followed. “Another person thrown under the bus.”

The government last night published a statement seeking to rebut Sir Olly’s defence, arguing: ‘No law prevents civil servants from reasonably flagging UK Security Review recommendations or high levels of risks and mitigating measures – whilst still protecting such sensitive personal information.

‘This allows ministers to make informed decisions, including appointments or accounting for government business in Parliament.’

10 questions the Prime Minister must answer

Keir Starmer is speaking in the House of Commons today about the Peter Mandelson investigation scandal. These are the questions MPs will want answered, says MARTIN BECKFORD:

1. Did Sir Keir mislead Parliament?

The Prime Minister has told MPs on multiple occasions that ‘the full legal process’, including a ‘vetting’, was followed before Mandelson took up his post. His right-hand man, Darren Jones, insisted last week that this was technically true because the State Department had a little-known power to override review concerns. But whether or not Sir Keir knew all the facts at the time, he will face damaging accusations that he did not tell the truth.

2. Why didn’t the Prime Minister immediately correct the records?

The Ministerial Code requires members of the Government to correct ‘any inadvertent errors at the earliest opportunity’ if they fail to provide accurate information to MPs. Sir Keir was told of the inquiry scandal on Tuesday night, so will be asked why he did not set the record straight ahead of Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

3. Was Sir Keir really the last to know?

Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary Cat Little was given a document revealing the review failure in late March and it was discussed with the country’s most senior civil servant, Dame Antonia Romeo. The Prime Minister was told weeks later. Sir Keir will be asked if he was happy they kept him in the dark and how many people before him at No10 knew about it.

4. Should he have been told what happened?

Sir Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office official who made the crucial decision to give Mandelson the job, believes he was not allowed to tell anyone about concerns raised during the review process. But many people working in Whitehall say they were notified when alarms were previously raised about other candidates.

Sir Olly Robbins, who made the fateful decision to give Mandelson the job, believes he was not allowed to tell anyone about concerns raised during the review process

5. Why did authorities say Mandelson should not have received a security clearance?

Although New Labour’s leading candidate has been linked to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, as well as Russia and China, during his long and colorful career, it is not yet known exactly what caused UK Security Review officials to raise the red flag over his appointment to Washington.

6. Has the Prime Minister seen the decision himself yet?

Last month No 10 officials finally obtained the document which revealed ‘the review officer’s recommendation was that enhanced review should not be granted to Peter Mandelson’. But Sir Keir may have been told the reasons behind the advice should remain secret to protect Mandelson’s privacy.

7. Did Mandelson read it?HEp-secret reports?

Besides enhanced scrutiny, Mandelson needed another type of clearance, known as STRAP, before he could be shown intelligence material. Did he win this despite failing the checks, or was he still allowed to see top secret files?

8. How much excavation has been done in Downing Street?

Journalists went to No. 10 in early September claiming that Mandelson had failed the review but had been assured that the normal process had been followed. Downing Street emphasized that officials have repeatedly asked the Foreign Office questions about the process, but it is not known exactly what they asked or what answers they received.

9. Why didn’t the Secretary of State know?

David Lammy, who was in charge of the Foreign Office at the time, revealed yesterday that he only became aware of the fiasco last Thursday. But Tory predecessor Sir James Cleverly said it should be his job to find out.

10. Was the ‘fallen man’ just following orders?

Sir Olly, who was sacked by Sir Keir last week, told MPs in November: ‘It was clear that the Prime Minister wanted to make this appointment himself.’ Did the Prime Minister or then-chief of staff Morgan McSweeney communicate that their nominee should be installed regardless of concerns expressed?