Documents released by the British government show officials believed there was a 'reputational risk' to appointing Peter Mandelson as the U.S. ambassador because of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Associated Press
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing renewed questions about his political future after new allegations surfaced over his handling of the appointment of Peter Mandelson, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as British ambassador to the United States.
Mr. Starmer announced the appointment of Mr. Mandelson in late 2024, despite well-known concerns about his close ties to Mr. Epstein, a sex offender who died in 2019 while awaiting trial in New York on sex trafficking charges.
The Prime Minister dismissed Mr. Mandelson last fall after e-mails and documents pertaining to Mr. Epstein became public, but questions have dogged Mr. Starmer for months over the handling of the appointment.
On Thursday, Mr. Starmer’s office confirmed a report in The Guardian newspaper that Mr. Mandelson had failed a security vetting process conducted by the Foreign Office in January, 2025, but the decision was overruled by civil servants. Mr. Mandelson took up the post in February, 2025.
Released files reveal Starmer was warned of ‘reputational risks’ in appointing Mandelson
Mr. Starmer’s office said on Thursday that he was not told the security clearance decision had been overruled until earlier this week. The foreign minister at the time, David Lammy, was also not told, officials said.
“The decision to grant developed vetting to Peter Mandelson against the recommendation of U.K. Security Vetting was taken by officials” in the Foreign Office, Mr. Starmer’s office said in a statement. Developed vetting is the highest level of security clearance in the U.K., carried out by a special agency within the Cabinet Office and used to screen officials who have regular access to top secret information.
“Neither the Prime Minister, nor any government minister, was aware that Peter Mandelson was granted developed vetting against the advice of U.K. Security Vetting until earlier this week,” the statement said. “Once the Prime Minister was informed, he immediately instructed officials to establish the facts about why the developed vetting was granted, in order to enact plans to update the House of Commons.”
Starmer says it was 'staggering' that he had not been told that Mandelson had failed his security vetting.
Reuters
Late Thursday, the government announced that the top civil servant in the Foreign Office, permanent under-secretary Oliver Robbins, had resigned.
Mr. Starmer has already faced a barrage of questions about the appointment of Mr. Mandelson, a longtime Labour Party stalwart, and he has repeatedly apologized. He has blamed Mr. Mandelson for not providing full details about his association with Mr. Epstein until the revelation of thousands of e-mails and other documents relating to the New York financier.
Last September, Mr. Starmer told MPs in the House of Commons that “full due process was followed during this appointment, as it is with all ambassadors.” After a speech two months ago, he told reporters, “There was security vetting, carried out independently by the security services, which is an intensive exercise that gave him clearance for the role.”
Fallout from Epstein files in Europe affects royalty, politicians and diplomats
Mr. Starmer is scheduled to offer another statement in the House of Commons on Monday, but opposition MPs are already demanding he resign for misleading Parliament about the appointment.
“It’s completely preposterous for us to believe that when the Prime Minister said on the floor of the House that the full due process was followed, that officials who knew that was not the case would not have told him,” Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said on Friday. “The fact is all roads lead to a resignation.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said it was “inconceivable” that Mr. Robbins would not have told Mr. Starmer or Mr. Lammy about the security clearance decision. If what Mr. Starmer said is true, Mr. Davey added, “what does that say about the government and how they operate?”
Britain's former ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, has been arrested over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Reuters
Stephen Flynn, who leads the Scottish Nationalists in Parliament, told reporters, “The Prime Minister is either incompetent, gullible or a liar. Or all three.”
Labour MP Emily Thornberry, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said the committee had been misled by Foreign Office officials.
“My committee asked several times whether red flags had been raised by Peter Mandelson’s vetting process. It seems there were,” she said on Thursday. “Who overrode these concerns? Why were we kept in the dark? People need to stop messing us about and tell us the truth.”
On Friday, Mr. Starmer said he was furious about not being told that Mr. Mandelson had failed the security clearance.
The Epstein files represent a larger, scarier truth
“That I wasn’t told that he’d failed security vetting when I was telling Parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable,” he told reporters. “Not only was I not told, no minister was told and I’m absolutely furious about it.”
Downing Street officials have confirmed that Mr. Robbins was not under any obligation to inform the Prime Minister that Mr. Mandelson had failed a security review. Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Prime Minister, told the BBC on Friday that “the Foreign Office and a small number of other organizations have the right to ignore the recommendations of security and vetting officials when appointing people to sensitive roles.”
Mr. Jones said Mr. Starmer only found out about the security review this week when documents were made available to the Cabinet Office as part of a continuing investigation into Mr. Mandelson’s appointment. Mr. Jones said that he has “immediately suspended the right last night for the Foreign Office and other organizations to be able to use that exemption.”