UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer battles a diplomatic crisis as ministers defend his integrity over the controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson.
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will face lawmakers in parliament on Monday to explain the controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
Starmer is under intense pressure after it emerged Mandelson was appointed in late 2024 despite failing to pass security checks, a fact the prime minister claims he and other ministers were not told.
The beleaguered leader, who sacked the foreign office’s top civil servant Olly Robbins on Thursday, has called the failure to inform him “unforgivable” and blamed department officials for overriding security advice.
Opposition leaders have renewed calls for Starmer to resign over the scandal, accusing him of either incompetence or deliberately misleading the public about his knowledge of the vetting failure.
Senior government ministers publicly backed Starmer on Sunday, with Technology Secretary Liz Kendall telling the BBC the prime minister would never have made the appointment had he known about the security clearance.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, who was foreign secretary at the time of the appointment, expressed shock and said it was “inexplicable” that Downing Street was kept in the dark.
Kendall further defended Starmer’s integrity and judgement on major policy issues, including rebuilding EU relations and limiting UK involvement in the Iran war, arguing he should remain in his job.
Starmer sacked Mandelson in September 2025 after new details emerged about the depth of his ties to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
UK police are investigating separate allegations of misconduct in office by Mandelson from his time as a Labour minister over 15 years ago, for which he was arrested and released in February.
Mandelson has not been charged with any offence and denies any criminal wrongdoing.
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