Starmer's Mandelson Ambassador Pick Backfires

0:00It's April 18th, this is Canada News Today, powered by AI. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is back in hot water over his choice to name Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States. Mandelson, a longtime labor figure and close friend of the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, got the top diplomatic gig despite red flags. Starmer picked him late last year, hoping his connections with smooth trade talks with the incoming Trump team, but the move blew up fast. Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Mandelson was first denied security clearance for the role, yet he still landed it after some internal. Overrides, Starmer had a shared parliament that everything followed full due process, but now he's accused of misleading lawmakers. The fallout forced the foreign office's top civil servant to resign, and Starmer called the whole thing staggering and unforgivable. Voters and pundits are ripping into Starmer for hypocrisy, since he swept into power last July, promising clean integrity after years of conservative.

1:01Scandals Labor folks in Scotland even call for him to step down two months back, and experts say this paints him as a rule breaker just like the guys he replaced. New details from Epstein court files dropped in January, showing Mandelson shared sensitive government info with the financier back in 2000. Nine in 2010, British cops launched a probe, rated his homes, and arrested the 72-year-old on suspicion of misconduct in office this past February 23rd. He was released on bail after nine hours and denies everything. No sex crime charges, though. Starmer fired Mandelson nine months into the job, and apologized to the public and Epstein victims, but opposition leaders say he's out of excuses with. Local elections looming in May. He'll face parliament on Monday to explain, and if his own party turns, this could spell real trouble for his leadership.