British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will address parliament on Monday, facing mounting calls for his resignation over his handling of the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, after it emerged he had failed a vetting process.
Mandelson, 72, was sacked as ambassador in September last year following revelations about the depth of his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with Starmer apologising for appointing him in the first place.
However, new information that surfaced on Thursday showed Mandelson had failed a security vetting process carried out before his appointment, intensifying pressure on Starmer, whose popularity has declined since securing a large Labour majority in the 2024 general election.
Starmer, who had earlier told parliament that all due process had been followed, said it was unforgivable he was not informed about the vetting failure until last week. A top Foreign Office official, Olly Robbins, has since been dismissed.
The prime minister said he would “set out the relevant facts” to lawmakers on Monday, while Robbins is expected to give evidence before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.
Opposition figures have accused Starmer of dishonesty and incompetence, arguing his position is no longer sustainable.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, said Starmer had shown “catastrophic misjudgement”, while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said he had been recklessly negligent at best.
“This has been a tawdry and shaming affair for you and your party, and for this country,” Badenoch wrote in a letter to the prime minister on Sunday.
“Not only have you damaged our relationship with the United States and insulted the victims of the paedophile 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’.”
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said Starmer would not have proceeded with the appointment if he had been aware of the failed vetting.
“There is no way that he would have proceeded with that whatever the so-called embarrassment, he would have thought that was wrong, and he would not have done it,” Kendall told Sky News.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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