Prime Minister to face MPs over Mandelson scandal

Sir Keir Starmer will address MPs in the Commons on Monday afternoon about the revelations that Peter Mandelson failed security vetting and was still hired as ambassador to the United States.

Last week, reports in The Guardian claimed that Foreign Office officials approved Lord Mandelson’s job despite UK Security Vetting recommending he should not be appointed.

It’s not quite clear exactly why the vetting team deemed Lord Mandelson unsuitable, but the Prime Minister was warned by senior figures in late 2024 about his ties with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and concerns over his business ties to China and Russia.

Lord Mandelson was sacked seven months later over his friendship with Epstein.

The Prime Minister said last week that he was “furious” that he was not informed about the vetting concerns, especially as he’d told MPs a number of times that “due process” was followed when handing Lord Mandelson the job.

Sir Keir has since sacked Sir Olly Robbins, the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office.

People close to Sir Olly say that legislation prevented him from disclosing details of the vetting process to the Prime Minister – while the civil servant himself told MPs last year that he approved the appointment because Sir Keir was set on Lord Mandelson getting the job: ‘In this case the Prime Minister took advice and formed a view himself, and then we acted on that view.’

Sir Olly told MPs: “The Prime Minister took advice and formed a view himself, and then we acted on that view.”

Both men believe they are right; the Prime Minister’s team have said it was “wrong” for Sir Olly not to have informed Sir Keir of the vetting decision, while those close to the civil servant say he followed the guidance that ministers don’t oversee national security.

On Monday, the Prime Minister will restate his anger at the “unforgivable” lack of communication and lay out his understanding of events.

But Sir Olly will get his say on Tuesday, when he is due to appear in front of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

This latest development in the long-running scandal around the appointment of Lord Mandelson has led to speculation that the Prime Minister could be forced to resign.

The defence being used by Sir Olly – that the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act prevented him from passing information on to Sir Keir – could actually help the Prime Minister’s case.

There is little doubt now that Sir Keir didn’t know about the vetting concerns.

Downing Street is trying to pin the blame wholly on Foreign Office mandarins, releasing new legal advice over the weekend that says civil servants can flag sensible concerns to the government.

But it has since emerged that the Prime Minister was told back in November 2024 – a month before Lord Mandelson was announced as US ambassador – that the civil service should be informed in advance about his pick for the diplomat role so that security vetting could be carried out before the announcement.

This didn’t happen – and it’s the decision to push ahead with announcing Lord Mandelson’s job before the appropriate security checks were carried out that could spell more trouble for Sir Keir.

Opposition parties have accused Sir Keir of incompetence and say he must go. There is limited appetite to oust the Prime Minister ahead of the May elections, but Labour MPs are frustrated that their leader’s judgement is under scrutiny once again.

The Prime Minister will hope that Monday’s statement vindicates him – but as more information comes to light, more questions arise.