Ex-Diplomat Blasts Starmer Over Mandelson Appointment

0:00It's April 21st. Welcome to U.S. News Today, powered by AI and covering the nation. A fire-top UK diplomat just dropped a bombshell, saying he felt heavy pressure from Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office to Greenlight Peter. Mandelsen, as Britain's ambassador to Washington, even with big security worries. Olly Robbins, ex-head of the Foreign Office, got the boot last week after okaying the pick against the vetting team's advice. The security folks called Mandelsen a borderline risk and leaned toward blocking his clearance, but Robbins overroated. He testified there was intense push to rush the job in January 2025, right as Donald Trump's second term kicked off, with everyone. Acting like the checks were no big deal, opposition leader Kimmy Badenock slammed it as devastating for Starmer, claiming he misled parliament on due process, a move that could force him out. Critics see this as another bad call from the PM, fresh off his July 2024 election win, with folks questioning his picks left and right.

1:01Mandelsen's past ties to Jeffrey Epstein, plus business links to Russia and China, sparked all the alarms from the start. Staff warned of reputation hits, but his elite connections were eyed as a plus for Trump talks. Now he's under police pro for possible misconduct, arrested in February, but not charged. Starmer's lost a review on any security leaks from Mandelsen's access, but the fallouts got UK politics buzzing as they navigate tense US ties.