Serious concerns have been raised that newly sacked US ambassador Peter Mandelson did not clear security vetting for the role – but the prime minister pushed through his appointment anyway.
Sources have told The Independent that MI6 failed to clear the Labour peer largely because of concerns over his business links to China.
However, there were also worries that his past links to the disgraced financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein “would compromise him”.
When The Independent put the claims that Sir Keir had pushed through Mandelson’s appointment despite not clearing MI6 vetting, a spokesman said: “Vetting done by FCDO in normal way.”
Lord Mandelson was sacked today after fresh emails emerged throwing light on his relationship with Epstein, with foreign office minister Stephen Doughty claiming that it was “new information” in a Commons statement.
Reacting to the news of the failed vetting, shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “These are extraordinary revelations.
“For Keir Starmer, and his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, to have appointed Lord Mandelson despite concerns being raised by the security services shows a blatant disregard of all national security considerations and their determination to promote their Labour Party friends.
“Starmer leads a crisis-riddled government consumed by a chaos of his own making, because he puts his Party before the needs of our country.
“The country deserves the honest truth this spineless prime minister refuses to give them.”
A former senior cabinet minister has explained that any security concerns would have been raised privately between the head of MI6, the foreign secretary and the prime minister.
It means that the new deputy prime minister David Lammy, who was the foreign secretary until a week ago, would also have been informed about any issues with the appointment.
Lord Mandelson was already a controversial pick for the role, with The Independent revealing that Donald Trump was minded to reject his credentials in January after the inauguration because of security concerns over his business links with Beijing.
At the time, sources close to the US president suggested that he would struggle to share confidential information with the Labour peer because of the perceived problems.
But after a massive diplomatic push, Sir Keir suceeded in getting Trump to accept Lord Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador because he wanted the architect of New Labour, known by many as the Prince of Darkness, to be responsible for the UK’s most important diplomatic relationship.
Now, Labour MPs are publicly and privately questioning Sir Keir’s judgement in appointing him.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who attempted to run for the deputy leadership contest, said: “There were clearly double standards here. Good people were blocked from being candidates for liking the wrong tweets, but Mandelson was appointed despite all his baggage.
“Many of us don’t think he should ever have been appointed in the first place.”
The comments echo concerns within the party after a string of sackings.
