Starmer told to QUIT over ‘lies’ amid claims Mandelson FAILED security vetting for US envoy – but officials were overruled
Keir Starmer is facing growing clamor for Mandelson to resign today over claims he failed a security clearance before being made US ambassador.
New Labour’s architect is said to have first been denied enhanced review permission in January 2025, weeks after the Prime Minister officially announced his appointment.
But the Foreign Office used a rarely used power to override the advice of security officials, according to the Guardian.
The fact that Mandelson was not signed had not previously been disclosed, despite the government being forced by MPs to publish a series of documents about the process.
Sir Keir has previously insisted that Mandelson was subject to ‘intensive security vetting carried out independently by the security services which cleared him for duty’.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said: ‘Last September Keir Starmer told Parliament three times that ‘full due process’ had been followed in appointing Lord Mandelson.
We now know that the Prime Minister misled the Parliament. The Prime Minister must take responsibility.’
Nigel Farage said: ‘We now know he was blatantly lying, the Prime Minister must resign.’
Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey also called for the Prime Minister’s resignation. ‘Keir Starmer had already made a catastrophic error of judgment,’ he said.
‘Now it looks as if he also misled Parliament and lied to the British public. If that’s the case, he should go.’
Mandelson is said to have first been rejected in January 2025, weeks after the Prime Minister officially announced his appointment.
Keir Starmer faces a new Mandelson storm today amid claims he failed vetting before becoming US ambassador
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Sir Keir ‘misled Parliament’ about Mandelson’s review process
A three-page ‘due diligence’ report submitted to Sir Keir on 11 December 2024 flagged links between Mandelson and Epstein
The allegations risk reigniting anger that came close to imploding Sir Keir’s premiership in February.
Labor MPs were outraged that Mandelson was given the key job despite his long-standing ties to Epstein.
The Guardian cited multiple sources for the claim and it is not known whether the Prime Minister was aware that the choice of ambassador had not been approved by the UKSV agency.
It is not clear who in the Foreign Office made the decision to invalidate the UKSV, or whether Mandelson himself knew about the matter.
Olly Robbins is believed to have been permanent secretary at the time, while Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was Foreign Secretary.
In another potentially provocative claim, the Guardian said senior government officials were considering whether to keep documents about the rejection from Parliament.
Labor MPs have rebelled to insist that a wide range of material about the process be published, and the cross-party Intelligence and Security Committee is expected to have the final say on what is too sensitive to be published.
The Daily Mail understands that no documentation has been submitted to the ISC to show that permission to investigate was initially refused.
At an event in East Sussex on February 5, Sir Keir said: ‘A due diligence exercise was carried out which resulted in questions being asked because I wanted to know the answer to certain issues.
‘That’s why these questions were asked. The answers to these questions were unrealistic.
‘Then I should add that the vetting carried out independently by the security services is an intensive exercise which qualifies him for this role, and you must do this before taking up the post.
‘Clearly both due diligence and vetting need to be revisited.
‘I have already strengthened the legal process. I think we need to look at the vetting because now it turns out that what they said was not true. And if I had known then what I know now, I would never have thrown him in the first place.’
On September 16 last year, Yvette Cooper, then Foreign Secretary, and Sir Olly wrote to the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs in response to questions about the review.
‘Peter Mandelson’s security review was conducted in accordance with the usual standards set for enhanced review in line with established Cabinet Office policy,’ the letter said.
However, it was not stated that UKSV initially refused to grant permission.
Senior Conservative MP David Davis suggested Sir Keir should have known whether Mandelson had failed his vetting.
The former Cabinet minister posted on
‘It must be assumed that Starmer knew about this review failure when he officially appointed him.
‘Clearly this calls into question the Prime Minister’s claims that he made this decision because Mandelson lied to him so that he would have had the accurate results of the review process when he made the decision.’
It has previously been revealed that Sir Keir did not speak to Mandelson personally before appointing him as US ambassador.
The Prime Minister is said to have left aides to field questions about his ties to Epstein.
This was despite evidence being presented that their friendship continued after the financier was imprisoned.
National security advisor Jonathan Powell also expressed his concerns about the process.
But Sir Keir went ahead after apparently agreeing with Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney on three questions to ask Mandelson.
Mr McSweeney resigned in February, saying he took full responsibility for the upcoming appointment.
Mandelson was arrested on February 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, accused of passing sensitive information to Epstein during his time as business secretary under Gordon Brown.
He was later released on bail, but later returned his passport and was released under investigation. He denied any criminal wrongdoing or acting for personal gain.
