Starmer blames Foreign Office over Mandelson vetting failure

British prime minister faced parliament after revelations ambassador to US had been denied security clearance.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament on Monday that Foreign Office officials withheld information about security concerns that would have prevented his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States¹²⁴.

Starmer addressed MPs under mounting pressure to resign after the government disclosed last week that Mandelson had failed a security vetting process before taking up his post in February 2025¹². The 72-year-old Labour veteran was dismissed in September following revelations about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein¹²³⁴.

The prime minister told parliament it beggars belief that throughout the whole timeline of events, officials in the foreign office saw fit to withhold this information from the most senior ministers in our system in government²⁴. Starmer said he regretted appointing Mandelson and would have withdrawn the decision had he known Foreign Office officials disregarded advice in January 2025 not to grant Mandelson developed vetting clearance, which allows access to top-secret information²³⁴.

Starmer previously told parliament that all due process had been followed over the appointment¹. He said on Monday it was unforgivable he was not informed about the vetting failure until last week and denied misleading parliament¹³. Top Foreign Office official Olly Robbins was sacked following the disclosures and is scheduled to give evidence to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday¹.

Opposition politicians have accused Starmer of lying and incompetence and called his position untenable¹. The scandal has resurfaced three weeks before local elections in which Labour is expected to suffer heavy losses¹. Mandelson's friendship with Epstein was publicly known before his appointment³.

No senior Labour MPs have publicly urged Starmer to resign¹. The prime minister rejected calls to step down and placed responsibility on Foreign Office officials for the failure to disclose the vetting concerns³⁴.