Ed Miliband says he warned Mandelson would 'blow up' as Starmer braces for sacked Foreign Office chief to tell his side of story TODAY

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 08:14, 21 April 2026 | Updated: 08:15, 21 April 2026 Ed Miliband today revealed he warned against making Peter Mandelson US ambassador as Keir Starmer faces more turmoil. The Net Zero Secretary said he told David Lammy he thought the appointment could 'blow up' - and the then-Foreign Secretary shared his concerns.  The comments came as the PM braces for sacked Foreign Office mandarin Olly Robbins to tell his side of the story.   Sir Olly is giving evidence to MPs at 9am after being squarely blamed by Sir Keir for 'deliberately' keeping him in the dark that vetting officials had advised against giving Mandelson the key job. The civil servant is said to be consulting lawyers, with fears he will be in line for a huge payoff.  The furore has renewed doubts about whether Sir Keir can cling on in No10, after he was almost ousted in a coup in February. Ed Miliband today revealed he warned against making Peter Mandelson US ambassador as Keir Starmer faces more turmoil The comments came as the PM braces for sacked Foreign Office mandarin Olly Robbins to tell his side of the story The furore has renewed doubts about whether Sir Keir can cling on in No10, after he was almost ousted in a coup in February Yesterday Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander raised eyebrows by saying it was 'not certain' the PM would lead Labour into the next election.  Mandelson spent nine months as US ambassador before fresh details of his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged. He was a political appointment to the plum diplomatic role, rather than the Washington job going to a career diplomat. Touring broadcast studios for the Government this morning, Mr Miliband said Sir Keir had acknowledged Mandelson should never have been appointed. He told Sky News: 'I steered well clear of Peter Mandelson when I became Labour leader in 2010'. Asked what he thought when Lord Mandelson's appointment was announced, he said: 'That it could blow up, that it could go wrong.' He added: 'I had a conversation with David Lammy about it before the appointment and I said I was worried about it … I think he was worried about it too.' Pressed if Sir Keir Starmer should lose his job, he said: 'I don't think so, no. Obviously I don't. 'I think prime ministers make errors. Prime ministers are fallible. Prime ministers are human. ' Mandelson spent nine months as US ambassador before fresh details of his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.