Sir Keir Starmer is under further pressure over Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US after it was revealed the Foreign Office overruled security vetting.
The prime minister is facing calls to resign and follow in the footsteps of Sir Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office’s most senior civil servant, who was confirmed to be leaving his role on Thursday over the revelations.
Sir Keir has previously insisted due process was followed in the appointment, and that Lord Mandelson had lied about the extent of his links with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is leading the calls for Sir Keir’s resignation following the latest discovery. She said: “If he has misled parliament, as it looks like he has, he should resign.
“If he has broken the ministerial code, as it looks like he has, he should resign. If he withheld documents by a cover-up from parliament, he should resign.”
Darren Jones, the prime minister’s chief secretary, said it was “astonishing” and unacceptable that the Foreign Office was able to overrule the vetting process for Lord Mandelson, and Sir Keir is “furious”.
PM facing calls to resign
The prime minister is facing calls from opposition parties to resign after it was revealed that the Foreign Office overruled security vetting for Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch on Thursday said: “It is preposterous for Starmer to claim he did not know Mandelson failed security vetting.
“If the Prime Minister doesn’t know what’s happening in his own office, he shouldn’t be in charge of our country. He should go.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “If this is true, the PM should’ve told Parliament at the earliest opportunity, not waited for the media to force the truth out.
“His failure to do that alone is surely a breach of the Ministerial Code.”
The Green Party and Reform UK have also now called for Sir Keir to resign.
Harriette Boucher17 April 2026 07:44
