Keir Starmer defies resignation calls over Mandelson envoy row

Published on 22/04/2026 - 16:15 GMT+2

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted connected Wednesday that helium would not resign, claiming allegations of misleading MPs implicit his assignment of Peter Mandelson arsenic UK envoy to Washington had been "put to bed".

Starmer's remarks successful parliament came arsenic the beleaguered premier faced caller calls to measurement down implicit his admitted mistake of judgement successful appointing the seasoned person to the coveted post.

The premier spoke to lawmakers a time aft the overseas ministry's astir elder official, Olly Robbins, gave grounds to a parliamentary committee having been fired by Starmer implicit the matter past week.

Starmer has accused Robbins of failing to archer him astir problems that emerged during Mandelson's information clearance.

He has repeatedly insisted that contempt antecedently stating that "all owed process" had been followed helium would not person allowed the assignment to proceed if helium had known that autarkic vetting officials had recommended information clearance beryllium denied.

Starmer told MPs that Robbins intelligibly answered "no" erstwhile asked if helium had shared the proposal "with me, fig 10 oregon immoderate different ministers".

"That puts to furniture each the allegations levelled astatine maine ... successful narration to dishonesty," helium said, adding a week agone absorption politicians "were each saying that it indispensable person been shared with maine ... It was not."

Mandelson was named to the apical diplomatic station successful December 2024, conscionable weeks earlier US President Donald Trump was inaugurated the pursuing month. He took up the occupation successful February 2025.

The nonstop quality of the risks raised by vetting officials has not been made public.

Robbins has said that they did not subordinate to Mandelson's narration with precocious US enactment offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Main absorption Conservative Party person Kemi Badenoch dismissed Starmer's denial, demanding answers arsenic to wherefore helium had not rescinded the assignment erstwhile helium learned of different arguable issues.

A papers produced during the assignment process said "Mandelson remained connected the committee of the Kremlin-linked defence company, Systema, agelong aft Putin's archetypal penetration of Ukraine successful 2014," Badenoch claimed.

"The premier curate told america connected Monday that he'd work that owed diligence report. Why did the premier curate privation to marque a antheral with links to the Kremlin, our ambassador successful Washington," she added.

Morgan McSweeney, Starmer's erstwhile apical aide, who resigned implicit his relation successful the crisis, is to look earlier MPs connected Tuesday.

Robbins said connected Tuesday that Starmer's Downing Street bureau enactment changeless unit connected civilian servants to o.k. Mandelson's assignment and seemed to disregard information concerns.

Robbins described the code not arsenic "just delight get this done quickly" but "get it done".

"I think, a beauteous unmistakable feeling," helium said.