PM Accused Of ‘Misleading’ MPs Over Mandelson Appointment

Keir Starmer is facing fresh backlash after he previously claimed “full due process” was followed over Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to the US.

It comes after the Guardian reported the ex-Labour peer actually failed his security vetting clearance in late January 2025.

However the Foreign Office allegedly overruled that decision and Mandelson worked as the ambassador from February until September 2025.

The former Labour minister was sacked last Autumn as the depth of his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein began to emerge.

Files released by the US Department of Justice earlier this year also revealed their friendship extended years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor.

Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing in regard to his relationship with Epstein.

The saga has raised questions about how much the government knew before giving Mandelson the plum job.

Multiple sources told the Guardian that Mandelson was initially denied clearance in late January 2025 after a developed vetting process.

But the prime minister had already announced he would be making Mandelson the ambassador to Washington, so officials chose to deploy a rarely used authority to override the recommendation from security officials.

Under intense scrutiny earlier this year, Starmer insisted that the security vetting process had given Mandelson “clearance for the role”.

Speaking from Hastings in February, he said Mandelson was subject to “security vetting, carried out independently by the security services, which is an intensive exercise”.

He claimed they gave the ex-Labour peer “clearance for the role”.

Starmer added: “Clearly both the due diligence and the security vetting need to be looked at again.”

No.10 has since said the prime minister was unaware that his pick to be the chief diplomat in Washington did not pass security vetting.

It is unknown who decided to overrule the recommendations from the vetting process.

The Ministerial Code makes it clear that ministers who knowingly mislead parliament are widely expected to stand down.

Responding to the report, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “Keir Starmer had already made a catastrophic error of judgement.

“Now it looks as though he has also misled parliament and lied to the British public. If that is the case, he must go.

“Labour came into government on a promise to clean up politics. Instead we’re seeing the same old sleaze, scandal and cover-ups as we did under the Conservatives.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch wrote on social media: “Last September, Keir Starmer told parliament three times that ‘full due process’ was followed over the appointment of Lord Mandelson.

“We now know the prime minister misled the House. The prime minister must take responsibility.”

Reform leader Nigel Farage wrote on X: “Keir Starmer said in February that the security services had given Mandelson ‘clearance for the role’.

“Now we discover that he has blatantly lied, the prime minister should resign.”

Green Party MP Sian Berry accused the PM of lying over Mandelson appointment.

In a statement, she said: “Keir Starmer has lied and lied again over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson and he must resign. Starmer told Parliament ‘due process’ had been followed. This report makes clear that was untrue.

“He has tried to blame the vetting process, when in fact it is reported that a decision was taken to ignore a failed vetting. We need answers on what and when Starmer and David Lammy knew about this decision to overrule the vetting report.

“The precise reasons for Mandelson’s failure to pass this vetting must be made public, even though it was known to everyone that Mandelson was friends with the world’s most notorious paedophile prior to the appointment.

“It is outrageous that it is being reported that senior government officials are now considering whether to withhold from parliament documents that show Mandelson wasn’t given security clearance.

“No more buck passing, no more mysteriously vanishing mobile phones, the public need the truth.”

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