U.K. prime minister says he didn’t know Epstein-linked ambassador failed vetting process

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that foreign office officials did not inform him, or any ministers, that they had granted security clearance to former U.S. ambassador Peter Mandelson in January 2025 against the recommendations of the U.K. Security Vetting agency.

Mandelson, 72, was sacked in September 2025 after revelations about the depth of his ties to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and Starmer has since apologized for appointing him in the first place. The prime minister has faced calls to resign because of the appointment, which took place despite the fact that Mandelson had failed the vetting process.

On Monday, Starmer apologized again to Epstein’s victims and said Mandelson should never have been appointed as the U.K.’s ambassador to the U.S., adding that his judgment was wrong.

Starmer said he had asked the group overseeing security standards across government to examine any security concerns raised during Mandelson’s tenure as ambassador to the United States.

The prime minister also told lawmakers it was staggering that he had not been told that Mandelson had failed his security vetting clearance, even when he ordered a review into the process. He maintains he would not have appointed Mandelson had he known about the results.

“I can tell the House that I’ve now updated the terms of reference for the review into security vetting to make sure it covers the means by which all decisions are made in relation to national security vetting,” he said.

The British prime minister added: “Separately, I’ve asked the government security group in the Cabinet Office to look at any security concerns raised during Peter Mandelson’s tenure.”

The government said last week it had found out that Mandelson had failed a security vetting process carried out before he took up his post in February 2025, heaping pressure on Starmer, whose popularity has sunk since he won a huge majority for Labour in the 2024 national elections.

Foreign ministry official fired over situation

Starmer, who had previously told Parliament all due process had been followed over Mandelson, has said it was unforgivable he was not told about the vetting failure until last week.

Top foreign ministry official Olly Robbins was subsequently sacked.

Opponents have accused Starmer of lying and incompetence, and say his position is no longer tenable.

Three weeks before local elections in which Labour is expected to suffer heavy losses, the resurgence of the scandal has triggered new questions about Starmer’s grip on government, although no senior Labour lawmakers have urged him to go.

Asked on Monday whether he expected Starmer to lead Labour into the next national election, Scotland Minister Douglas Alexander said: “I think he will lead, and I think he should.”

But Alexander told Sky News: “I think that there are rightfully and reasonably important questions that need to be answered today.”

Opponents place blame on Starmer

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrats’ leader, said Starmer had shown “catastrophic misjudgment.” Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, said he had at best been recklessly negligent.

“This has been a tawdry and shaming affair for you and your party, and for this country,” she said in an open letter sent on Sunday.

“Not only have you damaged our relationship with the United States and insulted the victims of the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but you have also undermined our national security by giving the highest diplomatic post to an individual that the security services found to be of ‘high concern.'”

Deputy prime minister David Lammy and technology minister Liz Kendall both said on the weekend that Starmer would not have allowed Mandelson to take up his post if he had known about the vetting failure.