London, April 16thReuters —
Former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson failed a security review before taking up his post, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer was unaware that officials had overturned the recommendation, the government said on Thursday.
A government spokesperson said in a statement: “Neither the Prime Minister nor his Cabinet were aware until earlier this week that Peter Mandelson had been granted a high-level review against the advice of the UK Security Review Office.”
The decision was taken by Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, the spokesperson added.
The revelations about the failings have increased pressure on Starmer over the appointment of Mandelson, who is under police investigation for allegedly leaking government documents to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The revelations have led to renewed calls for Starmer to resign.
Mr Starmer apologized for the appointment but defended his actions, accusing Mr Mandelson of creating “a series of deceptions” about his relationship with Mr Epstein. Mr Starmer has promised to release documents relating to Mr Mandelson’s appointment.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said Mr Starmer had “started the process of establishing the facts” of the vetting process, adding: “We are working urgently to comply with that process.”
Mandelson was fired in September
The Guardian reported earlier on Thursday that the security check failure occurred after Mr Mandelson’s appointment was announced. The government previously promised to overhaul the vetting process and “address weaknesses” in the system.
The report also said authorities were considering whether to withhold documents revealing that Mandelson was not given security clearance.
But a government spokesperson said that after Mr Starmer was briefed, he had instructed authorities to clarify why the permission had been granted and update Parliament.
Mandelson has not commented publicly on the alleged document leak, and his lawyer has not commented on the report.
Mr Mandelson, 72, was fired from Britain’s most prestigious post in the diplomatic service in September when the depth of his friendship with Mr Epstein began to emerge.
Her relationship with a convicted sex offender who died in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019 is at the center of a British political scandal that has forced two senior government officials to resign.
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch accused Starmer of misleading parliament by saying three times in September that “full due process” was being followed.
If Mr Starmer is found to have deliberately misled Parliament, he would have broken the norms governing ministerial conduct and is expected to resign.
Nigel Farage, leader of the populist British Reform Party, which leads in opinion polls, said: “Keir Starmer said in February that the security services had given Mr Mandelson ‘clearance for the role’.” “The prime minister should resign because it turns out he was blatantly lying.”
Mandelson was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office after Starmer’s government leaked communications between the former ambassador and Epstein. He was later released on bail pending further investigation.
Mr Starmer faces further scrutiny as Parliament is expected to release further documents relating to its investigation into him.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to resign in 2022 after months of embarrassing headlines about illegal parties held in government buildings during the coronavirus pandemic and accusations that he misled Parliament.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout, Andrew MacAskill and Sam Tabahariti; Editing by Alison Williams and Toby Chopra)
