LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced calls to resign on Thursday after Peter Mandelson was initially denied security clearance to serve as ambassador to the United States and was eventually fired over his close ties to disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After the Guardian revealed the matter, the British government said Starmer was unaware “until earlier this week” that the Foreign Office had vetoed Mandelson’s security clearance process to become the British ambassador to Washington.
Starmer has previously insisted that due process was followed in the appointment and that Mandelson, who was sacked in September 2025, lied about the extent of his links to Epstein.
After Starmer was informed, a government spokesman said the Prime Minister “immediately instructed officials to establish the facts as to why the approval review was granted so that plans can be developed to update the House of Commons.”
Opposition MPs said Starmer should resign if he misled parliament.
Kemie Badenock, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, said Starmer “will definitely resign”, while Ed Davey, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, said Starmer “must step down” if he misled parliament and lied to the British public.
In February this year, the US Department of Justice released millions of pages of documents related to Epstein, showing the close relationship between Mandelson and Epstein. Starmer’s tenure as prime minister faced the biggest crisis.
In particular, emails from the Epstein files released by the US government show that Mandelson passed sensitive and potentially market-moving government information to the disgraced financier in 2009, when Starmer’s political judgment was called into question and he was still a member of the Labor government.
Starmer has repeatedly apologized to the British public and the victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking for believing what he called “Mandelson’s lies”. Throughout his apology, he said both inside and outside Congress that the rules of review necessary for appointing someone to the wonderful post of U.S. ambassador were followed.
British police subsequently launched a criminal investigation and searched Mandelson’s two homes in London and west England. Mandelson was arrested on February 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office. After more than nine hours of interrogation, he was released on bail the next morning.
Mandelson denied any wrongdoing and was not charged.
Mandelson’s arrest came just days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, was arrested on the same charges. Like Mandelson, the younger brother of King Charles III was a close associate of Epstein.
In late 2024, Starmer appointed Mandelson to the ambassadorship despite being aware of Mandelson’s previous ties to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. Mandelson’s trade expertise was considered a key asset in trying to persuade the Trump administration not to impose steep tariffs on British goods, and it appeared to pay off when the two countries reached a trade deal months later.
Starmer sacked Mandelson in September over earlier revelations about his links to Epstein.
British documents released since the release of the Epstein files, including some related to the vetting process, confirm Starmer selected Mandelson despite warnings it could expose the government to “reputational risk”. The government said it would release more documents related to Mandelson’s appointment after being forced by parliament.
