Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described as “unforgivable” the fact that he was not informed that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting before being appointed as ambassador to Washington. Speaking publicly for the first time since the Guardian broke the story, Starmer said he was “absolutely furious” that neither he nor any other minister was told about the vetting failure.
Starmer’s spokesperson squarely blamed the Foreign Office, stating that Downing Street had “repeatedly” sought the facts of the case but was not provided with the information. When asked if this amounted to a “cover-up”, the spokesperson did not reject the term, saying: “The prime minister was not informed and he’s made clear that it is staggering that he was not informed.”
The controversy erupted after the Guardian revealed that security officials had recommended denying Mandelson clearance due to concerns about his relationship with convicted child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Sources said the recommendation was overruled, though it remains unclear who gave the order. Starmer sacked Olly Robbins, the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, on Thursday night.
Starmer is expected to appear before MPs on Monday to give a full account. He said: “What I intend to do is to go to parliament on Monday to set out all the relevant facts in true transparency, so parliament has the full picture.” He has also ordered an urgent inquiry, with terms of reference to be announced soon.
Ciaran Martin, a former senior civil servant and close friend of Robbins, suggested Robbins had been made a scapegoat. Martin told the BBC that vetting is a “risk assessment”, not a simple pass or fail, and that it is standard for officials to decide on the balance of risk without informing ministers, as otherwise the system would collapse.
