Starmer’s two top aides knew about Mandelson scandal WEEKS ago as Prime Minister is urged to take responsibility and resign

Two of Keir Starmer’s top aides have known about the latest Peter Mandelson scandal for weeks and it was revealed on Friday night.

Amid new accusations that Sir Keir is losing control of his government, it has been revealed that the country’s top civil servant, Dame Antonia Romeo, and the Cabinet Office’s Cat Little learned last month that Mandelson had been given the green light as US ambassador against the advice of security officials.

The embattled Prime Minister insisted he was unaware until Tuesday that New Labour’s leading candidate had been appointed to Washington last year despite failing his vetting.

He said he was ‘absolutely furious’ that the Foreign Office had not told him it had overruled the review and that he had sacked the most senior figure, Sir Olly Robbins.

Allies of the ousted mandarin insisted he was simply following the rules by keeping Mandelson’s highly sensitive background checks a secret and that there was ‘no basis’ for him to lose his job.

On Friday night it emerged that others in Downing Street knew full well before the Prime Minister his stance on the ever-evolving scandal, which has been going on for more than seven months.

Guard Ms Little, the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary who oversaw the release of files requested by MPs, was handed a damning document at the end of March, it said.

The letter, written by UK Security Review officials in early 2025, identified extremely sensitive concerns about Mandelson and concluded that he should not be given the required clearance for the job.

The Cabinet Office’s Kedi Küçük (left) and Dame Antonia Rome (right) learned last month that Mandelson had been given the green light as US ambassador against the advice of security officials

He told the Cabinet Secretary, Dame Antonia, just over a month after he took office, and they discussed the possible risks of sharing the information. The Cabinet Office then sought legal advice on whether this would undermine the Metropolitan Police’s criminal investigation into Mandelson, and also asked the Secretary of State why it had authorized enhanced review against the advice.

It was claimed that about a dozen officials and lawyers were aware of the review failure, but the Prime Minister, who has repeatedly insisted that everything was done by the book, was unaware.

The pair finally conveyed to Sir Keir on Tuesday the details of the statement that plunged his premiership into a new crisis.

But further questions came to No 10 in September after it was reported in The Mail on Sunday that Mandelson had failed his security clearance test, but the suggestion was rejected.

Senior Tory MP Alex Burghart said: ‘This is further evidence that Keir Starmer’s Government is in shambles.

‘If it is indeed true that Starmer did not know about Mandelson’s investigative failures when senior officials learned the truth, this confirms that the Prime Minister is in office but not in power.

‘Either everyone is lying, or this is the most chaotic government in history, or both. ‘It’s time for Starmer to go.’

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch added: ‘This is a national disgrace, responsibility lies with him and the only reasonable response is to resign.’

Sir Keir ignored the question on whether he would resign but faces a dangerous week ahead.

Sir Olly is summoned to appear before MPs on the foreign affairs committee the next day, while he is due to present his account of the saga to the House of Commons on Monday.

In another blow, the poll by YouGov found that only 16 per cent of Britons believed the Prime Minister was honest about how the disastrous embassy decision was made, while 53 per cent said the opposite.

Speaking in Paris for a summit on the Iran crisis, Sir Keir said: ‘It is surprising that I was not told that Peter Mandelson had failed his security clearance when he was appointed. It is inexcusable that I was not told that he had failed his vetting when I told Parliament that due process was followed.

‘Not only was it not told to me, it was not told to any minister and I am absolutely furious about it.’

A spokesman said Number 10 asked the Foreign Office ‘repeatedly’ about the facts of the case but was never told that red flags had been raised about Mandelson.

Ministers said they were not even aware that the Foreign Office had the power to override security advice.

A friend of Sir Olly insisted that the tangerine was following the rules.

Ciaran Martin, former director general of the National Cyber ​​Security Centre, told the BBC: ‘I absolutely cannot understand the basis for this decision.

‘There is no abuse of process. There is no processing error. Just as there is no duty to disclose the details of a case under investigation, there is also a duty not to disclose them.’

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: ‘As part of the Government’s commitment to fully comply with the Modest Conversation, the Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office requested the review summary document.

‘Upon receipt of this document the Cabinet Office immediately carried out a series of expedited checks to ensure that it was in a strong position to share the document or its authenticity.

‘As soon as these checks were carried out, the Prime Minister was informed.’