British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scheduled to speak before Parliament on Monday as opposition leaders demand his resignation over the controversial selection of Peter Mandelson for U.S. ambassador, following revelations that Mandelson failed security clearance checks.
The 72-year-old Mandelson, a prominent Labour Party figure, was removed from the ambassadorial role last September after his connections to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public knowledge. Starmer issued an apology at that time for the initial appointment.
New details surfaced Thursday revealing that Mandelson had actually failed security screening procedures before being named to the position, intensifying criticism of the prime minister whose approval ratings have declined since Labour’s decisive electoral victory in 2024.
Starmer previously assured Parliament that proper procedures had been observed regarding Mandelson’s appointment. The PM now claims it was inexcusable that he wasn’t informed about the vetting failure until the previous week. Foreign Office senior official Olly Robbins was dismissed as a result.
The prime minister announced he would “set out the relevant facts” to legislators Monday, while Robbins is expected to testify before a parliamentary committee Tuesday.
Political rivals have characterized Starmer’s actions as dishonest and incompetent, arguing his position has become untenable.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey criticized what he called “catastrophic misjudgement,” while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch described his conduct as recklessly negligent at minimum.
“This has been a tawdry and shaming affair for you and your party, and for this country,” Badenoch wrote in a Sunday letter to the prime minister.
“Not only have you damaged our relationship with the United States and insulted the victims of the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but you have also undermined our national security by giving the highest diplomatic post to an individual that the security services found to be of ‘high concern’,” she added.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall stated Sunday that had Starmer been aware of Mandelson’s vetting failure, the appointment would never have proceeded despite Mandelson already being selected for the ambassadorial role.
“There is no way that he would have proceeded with that whatever the so-called embarrassment, he would have thought that was wrong, and he would not have done it,” Kendall told Sky News.
