LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is refusing to step down following explosive revelations that his controversial choice for U.K. ambassador to the United States received the position even after security officials advised against the appointment, government sources confirmed Friday.
According to Starmer, he had no knowledge that the Foreign Office had overridden security experts’ recommendation in early 2025 to reject Peter Mandelson for the role. Mandelson’s selection was viewed as problematic due to his previous connections with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
Olly Robbins, the senior Foreign Office civil servant, accepted responsibility for the controversial decision and stepped down Thursday evening. Starmer is scheduled to address Parliament regarding this matter on Monday.
However, this development may not resolve the threat facing the prime minister following his decision to select Mandelson, a trade specialist and veteran Labour Party figure, as Britain’s representative to the Trump administration. The calculated gamble has failed dramatically and could potentially force Starmer from office.
Political opponents have expressed skepticism that Starmer remained uninformed about Mandelson’s security clearance failure. According to Starmer’s office, he only learned of this information earlier this week.
Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister, stated Friday that “the recommendation was to not appoint Peter Mandelson to the role,” adding that the Foreign Office disregarded this advice. While calling the decision “astonishing,” he maintained it fell within established protocols.
Jones emphasized that no government minister received notification of the security evaluation.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed claims about the prime minister’s ignorance as “completely preposterous.”
“This story does not stack up. The prime minister is taking us for fools,” she stated during a BBC interview. “All roads lead to a resignation.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey declared that Starmer “must go” if he deceived Parliament and misled the British people.
The prime minister has consistently maintained that proper procedures were observed during the appointment process, which was publicly announced in December 2024. Mandelson assumed his Washington duties in February 2025 following security screening.
However, government documents released in March under parliamentary pressure revealed that Starmer overlooked warning signs from his advisors. Staff members cautioned him that Mandelson’s association with Epstein, who died in custody in 2019, created potential “reputational risk” for the government.
Starmer dismissed Mandelson in September 2025 when evidence surfaced showing he had been dishonest about the depth of his Epstein connections.
The prime minister’s leadership encountered its most serious challenge in February following the U.S. Department of Justice’s release of extensive Epstein-related documentation, which revealed the intimate nature of Mandelson’s relationship with the financier, continuing even after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for sexual crimes involving a minor.
Email correspondence between the two men indicated that Mandelson may have shared confidential government intelligence with the discredited financier in 2009 while serving in Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s administration — information that could have influenced financial markets.
British authorities subsequently opened a criminal investigation and conducted searches of Mandelson’s residences in London and western England. Police arrested Mandelson on February 23 on charges of suspected misconduct in public office.
He remains free without bail conditions while the police investigation proceeds. Mandelson has consistently maintained his innocence and faces no charges at this time. No allegations of sexual impropriety have been made against him.
Starmer has issued public apologies to British citizens and Epstein’s victims for trusting what he now calls “Mandelson’s lies.”
