Mandelson was not made ambassador despite his ties to Epstein but because of them

Who could have known that when Starmer hired the Prince of Darkness to the UK’s most senior diplomatic role, it would end up causing so many problems? The answer is absolutely everyone, including Starmer himself.

Starmer has the look of a man who is not in control, who is tormented by every excruciating decision he makes, who knows he looks like a fool. It is not hard to join the dots and see that there is more at play, that Starmer was instructed to hire the guy at the heart of the Epstein blackmail ring. We can only speculate about what leverage the Epstein class has over Starmer, but it must be strong. No one would want to harm their own reputation for a guy as loathsome as Peter Mandelson.

The latest scandal involving Mandelson is that he failed his security vetting in January 2025, but was given the role of ambassador to the US anyway. The claim is that the Foreign Office overruled security officials because Starmer had already announced the appointment of Mandelson prior to the process being completed. The implication is that they didn’t want to embarrass the prime minister, so they jeopardised national security to spare his blushes.

Starmer’s only defence is that he had no idea what was going on until “earlier this week”. If that were true, he should have notified the public at the earliest opportunity, but he didn’t—the Guardian broke the story days later. The most charitable interpretation is that the prime minister is not in control and panicked when he discovered the truth. The less charitable ones are automatic resignation offences.

The Independent knew about the failed vetting back in September—they ran a headline on it! But we’re expected to believe the foreign office overturned a decision related to our most important diplomatic role without notifying the prime minister?

Starmer announced that Mandelson would be taking up the role as ambassador to the US in December 2024, a month before the vetting process had been completed.

The Cabinet Office’s Propriety and Ethics Team had already flagged a “reputational risk” from Mandelson’s Epstein ties in a December briefing. It highlighted his “particularly close relationship” with Jeffrey Epstein after his 2008 child-sex conviction. It noted Mandelson had stayed at Epstein’s New York house while Epstein was in jail—and that contact continued at least until 2014. Starmer hired Mandelson regardless.

It’s worth mentioning that development vetting is in place to protect the public from men like Mandelson—men who have a strong risk of being compromised. It delves into every aspect of your professional and personal life to look for weaknesses, and only someone who is squeaky clean is supposed to pass. The bar is set extremely high for good reason and people are often rejected without being told why. Anyone who was best mates with the head of a paedophile ring is as high risk as it gets.

Let’s not forget that Mandelson is currently under criminal investigation for things he allegedly did as ambassador—things he could not have done if Starmer hadn’t given him the role. This means Starmer bears responsibility for any crimes he might have committed.

Mandelson failed the vetting process on 28 January 2025, but the Foreign Office overruled the decision within 48 hours, exercising a rarely used power. By February 2025, Mandelson was in the role.

Starmer not only told the press and parliament that Mandelson had passed all checks, but later, when more Epstein-related scandals emerged, be blamed security officials and their inadequate vetting process! The prime minister blamed others for his own failure—something he makes a habit of.

Starmer cannot hide behind the vetting process when he was fully aware that Mandelson has a long rap sheet going back decades. Recent revelations did not come as a shock, they simply hammered home what we already knew: that he is a scumbag.

Mandelson encouraged Epstein to fight his conviction, allegedly shared market-sensitive information, and tried to get Epstein’s goddaughter into Downing Street. When Starmer sacked Mandelson in September, he called these actions “reprehensible”, but they did not come out of the blue, they were the continuation of a pattern of behaviour.

The kindest thing you can say about Starmer is that his judgment is woeful, but again, I do not think this was a judgment call—I think his hand was forced.

The “I didn’t know defence” is falling apart because there are only two possibilities: either Starmer is lying, or he was kept in the dark about a crucial national security decision. Either he overruled the decision or the Foreign Office took a huge decision without involving him. Either possibility suggests the prime minister is a liability.

Rather than take responsibility, Starmer has once again found someone else to take the blame. He has announced that he has lost confidence in FCDO permanent secretary Sir Olly Robbins and asked him to resign. Previously, Morgan McSweeney was the fall guy. It’s always someone else’s fault–McSweeney’s, Mandelson’s, Robbins’, the civil service’s, but never the prime minister’s.

Clearly, Starmer is panicking because No. 10 is trying to withhold sensitive documents related to the vetting process that it is legally obliged to provide to parliament. Those documents will likely be the final nail in the coffin. If they’re not, the wipeout in the upcoming local elections certainly will be. Starmer’s days are numbered.

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