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Mandelson scandal threatens Starmer: fired top official may contradict his account before Parliament

“It is totally unacceptable that when the prime minister has to push forward a nomination, he is not told the candidate has been vetoed. It is unforgivable,” Starmer said

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will voluntarily appear before the House of Commons on Monday in an attempt to save his government amid the revelation that Peter Mandelson, the controversial former Labour minister he appointed ambassador to the United States in 2024, had been vetoed by the UK Security Vetting agency (UKSV) before his appointment — a veto that was overridden and of which Starmer says he was never informed.

“It is totally unacceptable that when the prime minister has to push forward a nomination, he is not told the candidate has been vetoed. It is unforgivable and I am absolutely furious about it,” Starmer said on Thursday from Paris, where he co-chaired a summit on the Strait of Hormuz with Emmanuel Macron.

The scandal triggered the immediate dismissal of Oliver “Olly” Robbins, the Foreign Office's permanent secretary and the only official with the authority to override the UKSV veto. Robbins, a respected senior civil servant who led Brexit negotiations with the EU, had been in the role for barely two weeks when Mandelson's appointment landed on his desk. He has been summoned to testify Tuesday before Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, and sources close to him cited by British media say he considers himself a “scapegoat” and that his testimony could contradict the prime minister's account.

The most complex case of Starmer's career revolves around a central question: did he or did he not know Mandelson had been vetoed when he told Parliament that due process had been rigorously followed? The Conservative opposition, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK accuse him of lying. Starmer maintains that neither he nor his ministers were informed of the veto, CNN reported.

Downing Street revealed that two other senior officials — Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary Catherine Little — had also learned of the veto just two weeks ago but avoided telling the prime minister for fear of breaching their legal obligation of confidentiality over vetting processes. Ciaran Martin, a former senior civil servant and friend of Robbins, told the BBC that “there is a formal duty not to reveal the details of a vetting check. You can never tell members of government, because then the whole system would fall apart.”

Mandelson was appointed ambassador to Washington in late 2024 on the calculation that his negotiating skills would help shield the UK from Trump administration tariffs. However, he was fired in September 2025 after the release of emails revealing the extent of his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In January 2026, the publication of millions of pages of Epstein-related documents by the US Justice Department deepened the crisis: the files suggest Mandelson shared sensitive government information with Epstein while serving as a minister between 2009 and 2010. British police raided his two residences and arrested him on February 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was released after nine hours of questioning, has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.

While Labour MPs are questioning Starmer's ability to lead, no immediate internal challenge is expected for now. Municipal elections in England and devolved elections in Scotland and Wales are scheduled for May 7, with polls forecasting a further Labour decline and gains for Reform UK.