Starmer Slams Foreign Office Over Mandelson Appointment

0:00On April 20, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told MPs that foreign office officials hid the fact Lord Mandelson failed his initial security vetting for the U.S. Ambassador job. He said straight up, if he'd known, he never would have made the appointment. Starmer only learned about it last Tuesday when it came out the foreign office ignored the security agency's advice and cleared him anyway. This all started back in December 2024 when Mandelson got the nod before full vetting wrapped up. The vetting folks recommended denial on January 28, 2025, but officials overruled it. He started the role February 10, 2025, only to get sacked seven months later over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Opposition leaders are piling on hard. Conservative head Kimi Botanok wants Starmer to quit, saying he threw his team under the bus and misled parliament on due process. Lib Dems and others echo that, calling it a huge judgment, fail. Even some labor MPs are speaking out, questioning why Mandelson was pushed through despite the red flags.

1:04Things escalated with the top foreign office civil servants, Sir Ali Robbins, getting the boot, Thursday, after a probe exposed the override. Starmer called it a deliberate choice to withhold info, even during his own review of the process. He insists no downing street pressure, and he since changed rules so no announcements until vetting clears. The road keeps simmering as Robbins preps to testify Tuesday, and backbentures grumble louder. Starmer's dug in, blaming officials for the mess, but trust in the vetting system took a real hit.