Keir Starmer is facing a fresh Mandelson storm today amid claims the peer failed security vetting before becoming US ambassador.
The New Labour architect is said to have been initially denied developed vetting clearance in January 2025 – weeks after the PM had officially announced his appointment.
However, according to the Guardian the Foreign Office deployed a rarely-used power to override the recommendation from security officials.
The fact that Mandelson did not get signed off has not previously been revealed, despite the Government being forced by MPs to release of a batch of documents about the process.
Sir Keir previously insisted that Lord Mandelson was given ‘clearance for the role’.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: ‘Last September, Keir Starmer told Parliament three times that ‘full due process’ was followed over the appointment of Lord Mandelson.
‘We now know the Prime Minister misled the House. The Prime Minister must take responsibility.’
The claims risk reviving the furore that already came close to exploding Sir Keir’s premiership in February.
Labour MPs have been up in arms that Lord Mandelson was given the key job despite long-standing ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The Guardian cited multiple sources for the claim, and it is not known whether the PM knew his pick for ambassador granted approval by the UKSV agency.
It is also not clear who in the Foreign Office made the apparent decision to overrule UKSV.
Olly Robbins is believed to have been the permanent secretary at the time, while Deputy PM David Lammy was Foreign Secretary.
It previously emerged that Sir Keir did not speak to Mandelson personally before appointing him as US ambassador.
The PM is said to have left his aides to ask the New Labour architect questions about his long-standing ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
That was despite being presented with evidence that their friendship had continued after the financier was jailed, and warnings from senior officials.
