UK’s Starmer pleads ignorance over Mandelson, resists pressure to resign

InternationalUK's Starmer pleads ignorance over Mandelson, resists pressure to resignBy Reuters -Apr 17, 2026Prime ​Minister Keir Starmer, under renewed pressure to resign, expressed anger on Friday over not being informed that his former ambassador to the United States, Peter ‌Mandelson, had failed security vetting before being handed the job. Starmer, who won the largest majority in modern history for Labour at a national election in 2024, is facing fresh calls to step down over the Mandelson affair, just three weeks before his party is expected to suffer big losses in local elections in England and regional votes in Scotland and Wales. Following the sacking of Labour veteran Mandelson as ambassador last year over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, ​Starmer had won a brief reprieve from his critics after limiting Britain’s role in the Iran war. However, on Thursday it emerged that Mandelson had failed the security vetting conducted before his ​appointment as envoy, a fact that Starmer’s team said the prime minister had been unaware of. Starmer’s political foes have questioned how a ⁠prime minister could not know and have demanded his resignation. STARMER SAYS IT WAS UNFORGIVABLE HE WAS NOT INFORMED Starmer, who was in France on Friday for talks on the Iran crisis, told ​reporters it was unforgivable that he had not been told about Mandelson having failed security vetting “when I was telling parliament that due process had been followed”. Starmer said he would “set out the ​relevant facts” on Monday to parliament. A spokesperson for Starmer told reporters the prime minister had no plans to resign. Downing Street moved swiftly late on Thursday to try to quash the scandal, sacking the Foreign Office’s top official, Olly Robbins. Friends of Robbins were reported by Sky News on Friday as saying the rules of the vetting procedure meant he could not pass on the concerns raised to Starmer or disclose what else ​had been considered when granting approv...