Morally bankrupt! Starmer is accused after blaming security services for vetting process that failed to bar Mandelson
Keir Starmer was branded ‘morally bankrupt’ on Thursday night after accusing MI5 of failing to properly investigate Peter Mandelson.
The Prime Minister, who is struggling to survive amid an outcry over his handling of the scandal, criticized the disgraced Labor Party’s “independent review by the security services” and suggested the process should be scrutinised.
But his comments sparked a furious backlash, with critics pointing out that Sir Keir had approved and announced Mandelson as Washington’s new ambassador before he was subject to an in-depth national security investigation.
MI5 did not control Mandelson; this was the job of the Cabinet Office, with limited input from spies.
On Thursday, in a desperate attempt to hold on to his diminishing authority, the Prime Minister sought to portray himself as the victim of Mandelson’s lies, claiming he honestly believed his assurances that he ‘barely knew’ Jeffrey Epstein.
But the suggestion that Sir Keir was somehow blind to the true nature of their relationship and that MI5 should have dug deeper into him has fueled further anger among MPs, who accused him of a ‘dirty attempt to shift the blame’.
When Mandelson was appointed last February, there was ample public evidence of his close friendship with pedophile Epstein.
Conservative Party security spokeswoman Alicia Kearns said: ‘Keir Starmer once again demonstrates his lack of integrity. It is morally bankrupt to blame our security services when they installed Mandelson and only then tasked the Cabinet Office with whitewashing it.
Keir Starmer was branded ‘morally bankrupt’ on Thursday night after accusing MI5 of failing to properly investigate Peter Mandelson (pictured)
Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson pictured. MI5 did not control Mandelson; this was the job of the Cabinet Office with limited input from spies
‘Starmer knew they had an ongoing relationship and knew that Mandelson had been staying at Epstein’s home following his conviction as a pedophile while he was on official duties as deputy Prime Minister in New York.’
Describing the criticism of the security service as a ‘seriously vile blow’, Ms Kearns added: ‘To suggest that what is known about his affairs is not enough to prevent him from once again carrying the mantle of our country shows a complete disrespect for the common sense and decency of the British people.’
Sir Keir’s two-page Cabinet Office etiquette and ethics report, prepared before giving Mandelson the US job, revealed that his peer had stayed at Epstein’s townhouse in 2009 while the financier was in prison.
The report, which was part of preliminary due diligence on all candidates for the role, was meant to be a ‘summary of reputational risks’ derived from publicly available information.
It would likely also include a 2019 JP Morgan internal report that found Epstein ‘maintained a particularly close relationship’ with Mandelson.
There were also reports that Mandelson attended intimate gatherings at his Manhattan home starting in 2002.
Photos also emerged of the couple celebrating a birthday at Epstein’s Paris apartment in 2007; Meanwhile, Epstein was arrested, charged and released on bail for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s chief of staff, followed up by asking Mandelson a series of questions. The UK Security Review, part of the Cabinet Office, subsequently carried out an in-depth national security review.
Peter Mandelson, the then British Ambassador to the US, and Downing Street Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney were photographed leaving Number 10 in June 2025.
On Thursday Sir Keir said: ‘There was a due diligence exercise which resulted in questions being asked… the answers to those questions were not correct.
‘There was a security review carried out independently by the security services at the time… which cleared him for this role. Clearly, both due diligence and vetting need to be revisited.’
On Thursday night, the intelligence and security committee wrote to the Prime Minister, asking for the rapid delivery of unredacted paperwork related to the appointment.
Sir Julian Lewis, the committee’s former chairman, said: ‘This looks like a very dirty attempt to shift blame.’
On Thursday night, sources said Scotland Yard’s investigation into Mandelson was progressing rapidly. The force has asked that some files not be published for fear of damaging any potential investigation into misconduct in public office.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch claimed Sir Keir would use ‘every trick in the book’ to keep the files secret, adding: ‘He got his due and we need to make sure the truth comes out.’
