Starmer admits mistake over Mendelson, blames ministry

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer admitted today that he made a mistake when he appointed Peter Mandelson, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as the United Kingdom's ambassador to Washington, but said he would not have done so if he had known that Mandelson had failed security checks.

Starmer faced a barrage of calls from the opposition for him to resign as he tried to explain why Mendelson was given the job despite failing a security clearance for the UK's most senior diplomatic post. Starmer rejected the demands, placing the blame squarely on Foreign Office officials, who he claims failed to inform him of the security concerns.

He said that the facts about Mendelson's security clearance "could and should have been shared with me before he took office."

Starmer told MPs in the House of Commons that he “would not have gone ahead with the appointment” had he known. Mendelson was sacked in September, after nine months in office, when new details emerged about his friendship with Epstein.

Starmer's explanation was met with outrage from opposition MPs, who could not believe that the leader of the country did not know such crucial information, reports the Associated Press.

"I know that many MPs across this House will find these facts incredible," Starmer said. "To that I can only say that they are right. It is simply incredible."

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said it was hard to believe Starmer's lack of curiosity.

"It doesn't seem like he asked any questions at all. Why? Because he didn't want to know," she said.

Starmer has been trying to clarify the situation after repeatedly telling MPs that “procedure was followed” in Mendelson’s appointment. He now says he is “furious” that he was not informed that a thorough security check had recommended that Mendelson not be given a security clearance. The Foreign Office, which oversees diplomatic appointments, nevertheless approved his appointment.

Starmer sacked the Foreign Office's top official, Ollie Robbins, within hours of the Guardian reporting last week. But Robins' allies say he would never have shared sensitive security clearance details with the prime minister.

Robins is expected to present his version of events before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee tomorrow.

Badenoch said that Starmer, instead of taking responsibility for his mistakes, "threw his staff and officials under the bus."

Ed Davey, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, said Starmer "gives in every way the impression of a prime minister who is in office but has no real power."

"The prime minister knew that appointing Mendelssohn was a huge risk. He decided it was a risk worth taking - a catastrophic error in judgment. And now, when it has come crashing down on him, the only decent thing he can do is take responsibility."

Senior members of the government have come to the prime minister's defense. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said that if Starmer had known about the failed security check, he "would never, ever have appointed him as ambassador."

But as the AP reports, MPs in Starmer's center-left Labour Party, already worried about poor poll ratings, are growing increasingly nervous. Starmer had already defused a potential crisis in February, when some Labour MPs called for him to resign over the appointment of Mendelson.

He could face a new challenge if, as expected, Labour suffers a heavy defeat in local and regional elections on May 7, which give voters a chance to give a kind of mid-term assessment of the government's performance.

Critics say the appointment of Mendelson is further evidence of poor judgment by a prime minister who has made a series of missteps since leading the Labour Party to a landslide election victory in July 2024. Starmer is struggling to deliver on promised economic growth, fix crumbling public services and mitigate rising living costs, and has been forced to make several policy u-turns.

He chose Mendelson for one of Britain's most important diplomatic posts despite warnings from his team that his friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019, exposed the government to "reputational risk."

Mendelsohn's business ties to Russia and China have also raised eyebrows. However, his experience as a former European Union trade chief and contacts among global elites have been seen as assets in dealings with President Donald Trump's administration.

He held the post for less than nine months. Starmer dismissed Mendelson in September 2025 after evidence emerged that he had lied about the extent of his ties to Epstein.

Among the Epstein-related documents released by the US Department of Justice in January were emails indicating that in 2009, following the global financial crisis, Mendelson passed sensitive government information to Epstein that could have potentially influenced the market.

British police launched a criminal investigation and arrested Mendelson in February on suspicion of abuse of public office. Mendelson has previously denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged. He is not charged with sexual misconduct.