British Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, on Monday.Alastair Grant/The Associated Press
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has offered yet another explanation and apology for appointing Peter Mandelson, a long-time friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as ambassador to the United States, even after Mr. Mandelson failed a security clearance.
Mr. Starmer has faced days of awkward questions about why he wasn’t told by the Foreign Office for more than a year that Mr. Mandelson had failed a security review before taking up the diplomatic post in February, 2025.
Mr. Mandelson was fired last September after more details of his relationship with Mr. Epstein came to light in the media. But the Prime Minister said it was only last week that he was told Mr. Mandelson had failed a January, 2025, review by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV), a special agency within the Cabinet Office that screens high-profile appointments.
Last Thursday, Mr. Starmer blamed the top civil servant at the Foreign Office, Oliver Robbins, for withholding the information and fired him.
On Monday, during a tense debate in the House of Commons that saw two MPs ejected by the Speaker, Mr. Starmer said it was staggering that he had not been told about the UKSV recommendation and that the Foreign Office overruled the decision.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday it was 'staggering' that he had not been told that former ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson had failed his security vetting.
Reuters
“Let me be very clear: The recommendation in the Peter Mandelson case could and should have been shared with me before he took up his post,” Mr. Starmer told MPs. “Let me make a second point. If I had known before he took up his post that UKSV’s recommendation was that developed vetting clearance should be denied, I would not have gone ahead with the appointment.”
He added that the Foreign Office will no longer be allowed to ignore the findings of the UKSV.
In a nod to his critics, he said: “Many members across the House will find these facts to be incredible. To that, I can only say they are right. It beggars belief that throughout the whole timeline of events, officials in the Foreign Office saw it fit to withhold this information from the most senior ministers in our system of government.”
He said that during his conversation with Mr. Robbins last week, the former permanent undersecretary said he wasn’t allowed to share the information about the UKSV review with anyone. “I didn’t accept his explanation. That’s why I sacked him,” the Prime Minister said.
It’s not clear why Mr. Mandelson failed the security review. Mr. Starmer said it only came to light last Tuesday when officials were reviewing documents in response to questions from MPs about the appointment.
British PM Starmer under renewed fire over Mandelson appointment
On Monday he told MPs that he never should have considered Mr. Mandelson for the post. He also accused him of misleading officials about his ties to Mr. Epstein, who died in 2019 in a New York prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
“At the heart of this there was also a judgment that I made that was wrong,” Mr. Starmer said. “I take responsibility for that decision, and I apologize again to the victims of the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who were clearly failed by my decision.”
Mr. Starmer’s explanation has done little to ease the pressure on him or clarify why no one − not the Foreign Minister nor anyone in Downing Street − knew about the failed security review or asked about it. He has already fired his chief of staff and communications director over the appointment of Mr. Mandelson.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, said Mr. Starmer should resign. “He blames his officials, he said he had no idea. He gives every impression of a prime minister in office, but not in power,” Mr. Davey said Monday.
Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch accused Mr. Starmer of blaming others. “At every turn, with every explanation, the government story has become murkier and more contradictory. It is time for the truth,” she told MPs.
Mr. Starmer will likely come under more pressure Tuesday when Mr. Robbins appears before a parliamentary committee to give his side of what happened. He is reportedly furious at being made a scapegoat, and media reports suggest he is considering suing over his dismissal.