Keir Starmer told the House of Commons on Monday that he had not been informed that Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the US who has known ties to Jeffrey Epstein and who resigned amid scandal, had failed his security vetting. Starmer said Foreign Office officials overruled the recommendation to deny developed vetting clearance and that this decision — and the fact of the failed checks — was not passed to him or other senior ministers.
Starmer said he learned for the first time last Tuesday evening that on 29 January 2025 Foreign Office officials granted Mandelson developed vetting clearance despite a specific recommendation from United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) that such clearance should be denied. He said the information was not shared with him, the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, her predecessor Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, former Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald, or other ministers. He added that it was not disclosed even after Mandelson was sacked and amid early stages of the scandal, when some government statements had given the impression he had passed vetting.
“I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson,” Starmer told MPs. “I take responsibility for that decision. And I apologize again to the victims of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who were clearly failed by my decision.” He said that had he known Mandelson had failed the developed vetting checks, he would not have appointed him to the Washington role.
Mandelson was appointed in December 2024 and was sacked in September after more information about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein emerged. He later resigned from the Labour Party and the House of Lords and is the subject of a criminal investigation into alleged misconduct in public office dating back almost two decades. The case has put sustained pressure on Starmer’s premiership amid important local and regional elections due in May. Several senior officials and civil servants have been dismissed in the fallout, but Starmer and his cabinet ministers have so far remained in place.
Starmer said his concern grew in February when, given the extent of allegations and the subsequent criminal probe, Mandelson had apparently not raised any red flags. He ordered an internal review of UKSV procedures and said it was staggering that no one told him Mandelson had failed the checks even then. His remarks prompted audible reactions in the chamber; Starmer said it “beggars belief” that Foreign Office officials withheld the information from the most senior ministers.
Opposition figures demanded answers. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer’s reputation was at stake and called the matter one of national security, arguing the government’s account had become murkier. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey likened the turmoil to the final years of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and criticised Starmer for apparently asking too few questions about vetting. Reform UK MP Lee Anderson was ejected from the Commons for accusing Starmer of lying and refusing to withdraw the remark when challenged by the Speaker.
Peter Mandelson, 72, has been a prominent figure in British politics since the early 1990s as a strategist, communications director and minister in the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He has held roles including Business Secretary and First Secretary of State, and served as European Commissioner for Trade from 2004 to 2008. Mandelson has resigned previously amid controversy — notably in 1998 over an undisclosed loan and in 2001 over allegations relating to a passport application — and has faced criticism over alleged ties to Russia and China. Despite his connections to Epstein, Mandelson has not been accused of sexual misconduct.