'Staggering' I was not told Mandelson failed vetting, says PM

Sir Keir Starmer has said it's "staggering" that he, as prime minister, was not told about Lord Peter Mandelson failing to pass initial security vetting checks.

The prime minister is facing calls to resign over the revelation that vetting officers recommended against Lord Mandelson's being appointed as US ambassador, but that recommendation was overruled by the Foreign Office.

Sir Olly Robbins, who was two weeks into the job heading up the Foreign Office at the time, was effectively sacked by Sir Keir last night.

Opposition parties are calling for Sir Keir to go, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch saying the explanation so far is "completely preposterous" and "all roads lead to resignation".

Lord Mandelson was announced as the UK's ambassador to the US in December 2024, before in-depth vetting had been carried out.

He formally took up the role in February 2025, and was sacked seven months later over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

On Thursday, a Guardian investigation revealed Mandelson had been appointed despite failing initial vetting.

Later on Thursday evening, the government said no minister had been informed of that decision at the time, and the PM had only discovered it on this week.

Speaking to journalists in Paris on Friday, Sir Keir said: "That I wasn't told that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting when he was appointed is staggering.

"That I wasn't told that he had failed security vetting when I was telling Parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable.

"Not only was I not told, no minister was told, and I'm absolutely furious about that.

"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."

Asked why he always ended up sounding like the passenger in the government rather than the driver, and pressed on whether the Foreign Office had acted unilaterally on a political appointment, Starmer repeated that he was not told.

He added: "Number 10 was not told that he had failed security vetting - that is completely unacceptable."

Senior minister Darren Jones earlier said Sir Keir had not misled MPs when he said due process had been followed, and therefore would not be resigning.

Jones told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, there was no obligation in the rules for ministers to be told about security vetting decisions when Lord Mandelson was appointed.

"The Foreign Office did not tell the prime minister that they had granted developed vetting status to Peter Mandelson against the advice of the security and vetting process," he said.

The PM had only been made aware of that on Tuesday evening this week, Jones added, when documents became available as part of the process of selecting material relating to Mandelson's appointment that is due to be released to MPs.

Jones said the PM had been planning to make a statement to MPs on Monday, April 20, once he had established the full facts but had been forced to take action after the Guardian published its story.

Pressed on why Sir Keir did not raise the issue at PMQs on Wednesday - the day after he says he learned about it - Jones said this was because he had requested full details from Antonia Romeo, the head of the civil service, so he could be accurate when he faces MPs on Monday.

However, the explanation was rejected by Badenoch, who said: "It is completely preposterous that the prime minister, the former chief prosecutor of this country, did not ask basic questions, did not ask to look at the security vetting himself."

She added: "All roads lead to resignation - at some point there has been deliberate dishonesty."

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for an investigation by the Privileges Committee, the same process used to hold Boris Johnson to account over the Partygate scandal, into whether Sir Keir intentionally misled Parliament.

Foreign Affairs select committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry has invited Sir Olly to give evidence on Tuesday next week, the second time he will have been quizzed about his involvement in the Mandelson scandal.

Labour MP Dame Emily told Sky News: "Perhaps he can tell us… was it his own idea, or was he being leant on elsewhere?

"Or was he, being a civil servant, was he getting direction from elsewhere, and if so, by whom?"

Dame Emily also pointed to the careful language in a letter she received from Cooper on the vetting process, which noted the vetting process had "concluded" with clearance being granted.

"It says he was vetted, and it says he was appointed, but it doesn't say it was overridden… I'm saying is that, you know, people have basically been telling us half the story," she added.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, on the campaign trail in Edinburgh, told journalists he stood by his call for Sir Keir to resign over the Mandelson scandal, saying there were questions for Downing Street and the UK Government to answer.

He said: "I stated my position, I stand by it, I don't recoil for it, the Mandelson scandal was the tipping point for me," adding he believed Lord Mandelson to be "a traitor to his party and country".

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