UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer remains engulfed by the scandal over his appointment of Peter Mandelson, despite weeks of attempts to move on.
On Friday Starmer said he was “furious” that he had not been told Mandelson had failed a critical security vetting check before being appointed ambassador to the US. “That I wasn’t told that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting when he was appointed is staggering,” he said. “Not only was I not told, no minister was told, and I’m absolutely furious about that.” He said he would go to Parliament on Monday “to set out all the relevant facts in true transparency so Parliament has the full picture.”
The row centres on Mandelson’s long-standing friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Mandelson’s close relationship with Epstein was well known and his appointment was always seen as risky; it has now exploded into a crisis that threatens Starmer’s leadership.
Olly Robbins resigned on Thursday as the Foreign Office’s top civil servant amid the fallout. Starmer’s chief secretary, Darren Jones, said the Foreign Office had ignored the intelligence community. He explained that Security Vetting checks examine financial, personal, sexual, religious and other areas and are kept extremely private on a restricted portal.
Starmer has defended the appointment, saying “due process” was followed. Mandelson, a former EU trade commissioner, was seen as someone who could handle relations with US President Donald Trump. Mandelson took up the Washington post in February 2025, days after Trump returned to the White House, and initially helped negotiate a special trade deal as Trump imposed tariffs globally. Six months later Starmer sacked him after the extent of Mandelson’s links to Epstein became public.
Documents Parliament forced the government to release in March showed red flags that critics say Starmer ignored before appointing Mandelson. A February release by the US Department of Justice further highlighted the close Epstein–Mandelson relationship. Mandelson is also accused of sharing sensitive UK government information with Epstein in 2009, when he served under Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Mandelson was arrested on February 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office; he has denied wrongdoing and has not been accused of sexual offences.
Opposition figures have intensified calls for Starmer to resign. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called his account “completely preposterous” and said, “This story does not stack up. The prime minister is taking us for fools. All roads lead to a resignation.” Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said Starmer “must go” if it is proven he lied to the public and to Parliament.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery