Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has made explosive allegations that Foreign Office officials intentionally withheld critical information about Lord Peter Mandelson's security clearance, claiming he would never have appointed him as US ambassador had he known the full facts.
In a tense parliamentary statement, Starmer revealed he only learned last Tuesday that the Foreign Office had overruled a recommendation from UK Security Vetting, which had advised against granting Lord Mandelson Developed Vetting clearance in January 2025. The prime minister insisted this information was deliberately kept from him on multiple occasions.
"A deliberate decision was taken to withhold that material from me," Starmer told MPs. "This was not a lack of asking. This wasn't an oversight. It was a decision taken not to share that information on repeated occasions."
Starmer identified several key moments when officials should have informed him: when Mandelson was initially appointed in December 2024, when he was dismissed seven months later over his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and when the prime minister ordered a review of the vetting process.
The controversy has intensified with the effective dismissal of Sir Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office's most senior civil servant, following revelations that his department ignored security recommendations. When questioned about Robbins' actions, Starmer stated the civil servant claimed he "wasn't allowed to provide this information to me."
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has called for Starmer's resignation, accusing him of misleading Parliament and failing to correct the record promptly. She argued the prime minister had "thrown his staff and officials under the bus" rather than accepting responsibility.
Labour MPs have also expressed concerns, with some describing Starmer's parliamentary performance as "abysmal" and questioning why Mandelson was ever considered for such a sensitive diplomatic position. Chris Hinchliff, Labour MP for North East Hertfordshire, suggested there might have been "political pressure from Number 10" to advance Mandelson's appointment.
Starmer firmly denied any pressure from Downing Street, maintaining that security vetting typically occurs after appointment but before taking up the role. He acknowledged that while sensitive personal information from vetting should remain confidential, ministers should be informed of the overall recommendation.
The prime minister described it as "frankly staggering" that he wasn't informed even when launching a review of the vetting process, and called it "absolutely unforgivable" that Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper wasn't told when responding to parliamentary questions about the appointment.
With Sir Olly Robbins scheduled to testify before the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and Badenoch granted an emergency parliamentary debate, the controversy shows no signs of abating, continuing to challenge Starmer's leadership months after Mandelson's brief and troubled tenure as ambassador ended.