US EditionStarmer admits mistake in appointing Mandelson as UK ambassador but resists calls to resign
Starmer said Foreign Office officials withheld a security warning that would have blocked Mandelson’s appointment, and he apologized to Epstein’s victims.
- On Monday, April 20, 2026, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer apologized in the Commons for appointing Lord Peter Mandelson as U.S. ambassador, admitting he would not have proceeded had he known the peer failed security vetting.
- Despite the United Kingdom Security Vetting recommendation that clearance be denied, Foreign Office officials granted Lord Mandelson security clearance on January 29, 2025, a decision Starmer claimed was deliberately withheld from him until April 14.
- Starmer sacked top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins last week, while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused the Prime Minister of "lacking in curiosity" and breaching the ministerial code.
- SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn urged Starmer to resign over his "shameful role" in the appointment, as Robbins is scheduled to testify before the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, April 21.
- Mandelson was fired in September 2025 after links to Jeffrey Epstein emerged; Starmer ordered the Government Security Group to review process failures as opposition parties continue demanding accountability.
69 Articles
69 Articles
UK PM apologizes over former US ambassador hire
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer apologized for the appointment of former US ambassador Peter Mandelson, as well as to the victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer fired Peter Mandelson in September after the extent of his close ties with Epstein was revealed in documents released by the US Department of Justice.
The diplomat close to sexual criminal Jeffrey Epstein had not obtained a green light from the officials responsible for the checks. However, the Prime Minister assured that he had been informed that last week. This failure called into question the professionalism promised to the British by the leader of LabourPeter Mandelson should never have become ambassador because of his proximity to the American sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. The procedures …
The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, acknowledged this Monday that he committed a "trial error" by appointing Peter Mandelson ambassador to Washington despite...
"I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson. I take responsibility for that." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the House of Commons in his speech to defend myself from the accusations of misleading Parliament, and therefore of having lied, about the appointment of the former minister as ambassador to the US. "I apologise, once again, with the victims of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who were clearly damaged by my decision" Starmer added. …
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