UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has insisted he will not resign over the controversy surrounding his appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States.
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Starmer said allegations that he misled MPs about the appointment had been “put to bed” after evidence given by the Foreign Office’s former top civil servant, Olly Robbins. Robbins was fired last week over the row.
Starmer has faced intense pressure after admitting it was an error of judgment to push ahead with Mandelson’s posting despite red flags raised during security vetting. He had previously told lawmakers that “all due process” was followed.
The prime minister now argues he would not have allowed the appointment to proceed had he been told that independent vetting officials recommended denying Mandelson security clearance. He told MPs that Robbins answered “no” when asked if he had shared that recommendation with Starmer, 10 Downing Street or any other ministers.
“That puts to bed all the allegations levelled at me in relation to dishonesty,” Starmer said, accusing opposition parties of falsely claiming he knew of the concerns.
Mandelson, a veteran Labour grandee and close ally of Starmer, was named UK ambassador to Washington in December 2024, shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term the following month. He took up the role in February 2025.
The precise nature of the security risks flagged by vetting officials has not been publicly disclosed. Robbins has said they were not related to Mandelson’s past links to late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed Starmer’s defence and questioned why he did not abandon the appointment after reading a due diligence report. She told MPs the document stated that Mandelson remained on the board of Kremlin linked defence company Sistema long after Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
“Why did the prime minister want to make a man with links to the Kremlin our ambassador in Washington?” Badenoch asked.
Robbins, in his own appearance before the parliamentary committee, claimed Downing Street put constant pressure on civil servants to get Mandelson’s appointment approved and appeared to brush aside security concerns. He described the tone from Number 10 as not just “please get this done quickly” but “get it done,” calling it “a pretty unmistakable feeling.”
Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s former chief adviser who resigned over his role in the controversy, is expected to give further evidence to MPs next week.
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