The UK prime minister says he was unaware that an embassy linked to Epstein had failed a background check
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that Foreign Office officials had not informed him, or any ministers, that they had given former US ambassador Peter Mandelson security clearance in January 2025 against the recommendations of the UK Security Vetting agency.
Mandelson, 72, was fired in September 2025 after revelations about the depth of his relationship with the late American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and Starmer has since apologized for targeting him in the first place. The Prime Minister has faced calls for him to resign as a result of his appointment, which happened even though Mandelson failed the test.
On Monday, Starmer also apologized to Epstein’s victims and said Mandelson should not have been appointed UK ambassador to the US, adding that his decision was wrong.
Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the United States, has been arrested in a misconduct investigation stemming from his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson is accused of passing sensitive government information to Epstein in 2009.
Starmer said he has asked a government-wide security standards task force to review any security concerns raised during Mandelson’s time as ambassador to the United States.
The prime minister also told MPs that it was surprising that he was not told that Mandelson failed to obtain a security clearance, and when he ordered a review of the plan. He maintained that he would not have nominated Mandelson if he had known the results.
“I can tell the House that I have now prepared the terms of reference for review in the security assessment to ensure that it includes the methods by which all decisions are made in relation to the national security assessment,” he said.
The British prime minister added: “Separately, I have asked the government’s security team at the Cabinet Office to look into any security issues raised during Peter Mandelson’s tenure.”
The government said last week it had discovered Mandelson had failed security checks before he took office in February 2025, putting pressure on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since winning a Labor majority in the 2024 general election.
The official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs fired because of the situation
Starmer, who once told Parliament that all the appropriate procedures were followed for Mandelson, said it would be inexcusable that he was not told about the test failure until last week.
Senior foreign minister Olly Robbins was subsequently sacked.
Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, stepped down on Sunday. The move follows days of uproar over McSweeney’s involvement in appointing Peter Mandelson – an acquaintance of Jeffrey Epstein – as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.
Opponents have accused Starmer of lying and incompetence, and say his position is no longer tenable.
Three weeks before a local election in which Labor is expected to lose heavily, the resurgence of the scandal has raised fresh questions about Starmer’s hold on government, although no senior Labor lawyers have called for him to go.
Asked on Monday if he expected Starmer to lead Labor in the next general election, Scottish Minister Douglas Alexander said: “I think he will, and I think he should.”
But Alexander told Sky News: “I think there are relevant and important questions to be answered today.”
The opposition put the blame on Starmer
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said Starmer had shown a “catastrophic misjudgment.” Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, said he had been reckless.
“This has been a disgraceful and shameful affair for you and your party, and for this country,” he said in an open letter sent on Sunday.
“Not only has he damaged our relationship with the United States and insulted the victims of the rapist Jeffrey Epstein, but he has also undermined our national security by giving the highest diplomatic position to a person found by the security forces to be ‘very troubling.’
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and technology minister Liz Kendall both said at the weekend that Starmer would not have allowed Mandelson to take over if he had known about the test failure.
