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Published : 17 Apr 2026, 12:29 AM
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing intense pressure to step down after a bombshell investigation revealed he allegedly misled parliament to appoint Lord Peter Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the US.
According to The Guardian, Mandelson, who was later sacked over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, actually failed his security vetting, but the decision was secretly overruled by the government.
The revelation has sparked a firestorm among UK politicians, with opposition leaders claiming the prime minister’s "clearance" claims were a blatant deception.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said if Starmer misled lawmakers, he "must take responsibility", while Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey was more direct: "If Keir Starmer has lied to the British people, he has to go."
The Financial Times also ran a report on The Guardian findings.
According to the reports, Mandelson was denied "developed vetting" (DV) clearance in late January 2025 following a highly confidential background check.
This created a massive dilemma for the UK government because Starmer had already publicly announced Mandelson as his pick for Washington in December 2024 -- weeks before the background checks were finished.
Critics argue the prime minister ignored warnings from the Cabinet Office's propriety and ethics team, which had flagged Mandelson's relationship with the convicted sex offender Epstein as a "reputational risk".
On Feb 5, Starmer told a press conference that Mandelson had gone through an "intensive exercise that gave him clearance for the role".
Internal documents now show that UK Security Vetting (UKSV) had officially denied that clearance on Jan 28, 2025.
Over a frantic 48-hour period, senior officials at the Foreign Office -- then led by Permanent Secretary Sir Olly Robbins -- chose to bypass the security services' recommendation, according to The Guardian.
The controversy deepened in September 2025 when Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Robbins sent a letter to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. The letter claimed that the process "concluded with DV clearance being granted", but failed to mention that the clearing body had originally recommended the opposite.
"Full due process was followed," Starmer told parliament three times last September.
Opposition MPs now argue these statements were fundamentally dishonest, as the "due process" involved an extraordinary political override of national security protocols to protect a political appointee.
Mandelson served as ambassador for only seven months before being dismissed last September due to his long-standing association with convicted sex offender Epstein.
In February, authorities opened a criminal investigation into the former ambassador over suspected misconduct in public office.
According to US files, more than 15 years ago, while serving as business secretary, he allegedly shared confidential UK state information with Epstein, from whom he had previously received significant sums of money.
Mandelson has said he does not recall receiving any such payments.
In a separate due diligence report prepared for Starmer, Mandelson’s links to Epstein, along with his two resignations from Tony Blair’s government, were cited as signs of “general reputational risk”.
The assessment also noted that Mandelson maintained contact with Epstein even after the financier had been convicted of soliciting sex from a minor.
