LONDON – Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy expressed his backing for Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday as controversy continues surrounding the selection of Peter Mandelson for the U.S. ambassador position.
The longtime Labour Party figure Mandelson received the ambassadorial appointment from Starmer but was later dismissed due to his connections with deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, creating a political crisis that has called the British leader’s decision-making into question.
On Friday, Starmer encountered fresh calls for his resignation after government officials revealed that security clearance procedures had advised against Mandelson’s appointment, though Foreign Office personnel overturned this guidance without notifying the prime minister.
Lammy, who oversaw the Foreign Office during this period and currently serves as deputy prime minister and justice secretary, expressed to the Guardian newspaper his bewilderment that Starmer remained uninformed about the original security assessment.
“I have absolutely no doubt at all, knowing the PM as I do, that had he known that Peter Mandelson had not passed the vetting, he would never, ever have appointed him ambassador,” Lammy told the newspaper.
These remarks precede a parliamentary address scheduled for Monday afternoon where Starmer has pledged to reveal complete details about the situation.
Although political adversaries have dismissed his account as unbelievable and demanded his resignation, prominent figures within his Labour Party – including potential successors – have refrained from publicly condemning him.
When the Guardian initially disclosed Mandelson’s security clearance failure on Thursday, his legal representative declined to offer any statement.
