Officials deliberately withheld Mandelson vetting result from me, Starmer says
Summary
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said officials in the Foreign Office kept from him the fact that Lord Peter Mandelson initially failed security checks for the UK ambassador role to the US. He said if he had known this, he would not have approved the appointment.Key Facts
- Lord Mandelson was named UK ambassador to the US in December 2024 before full security vetting was done.
- Security Vetting agency recommended denying Mandelson clearance in January 2025.
- Foreign Office officials ignored this and granted Mandelson clearance anyway.
- PM Starmer only found out last week that the vetting agency's advice was ignored.
- Starmer said officials deliberately withheld this information from him multiple times.
- Mandelson was sacked seven months after starting the job because of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
- The top Foreign Office civil servant, Sir Olly Robbins, was removed after this information came to light.
- Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Starmer of misleading Parliament and called for his resignation.
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