UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday he was "furious" after it emerged his sacked US ambassador Peter Mandelson was appointed despite failing security vetting, as the scandal again threatens his hold on power.
The beleaguered British leader, who has been dogged for months by the controversy, claimed he and other ministers were not told Mandelson had failed the vetting process, branding that "unforgivable".
Starmer has faced repeated calls to quit since his 2024 decision to appoint Mandelson as Britain's top diplomat in Washington backfired spectacularly over the envoy's longstanding ties to late US offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Starmer sacked Mandelson in September, just seven months after taking up his post.
A longtime insider with the ruling centre-left Labour party, Mandelson had held multiple ministerial posts since the late 1990s, but was tarred by repeated scandals which earlier twice forced him out of office.
"That I wasn't told that he had failed (security vetting) when I was telling parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable", Starmer told broadcasters on Friday during a visit to Paris.
"Not only was I not told, no minister was told and I'm absolutely furious about that", he said, adding he would address parliament on Monday "to set out all the relevant facts in true transparency".
Starmer's government has blamed Foreign Office officials for allowing Mandelson's appointment to proceed "against the recommendation of UK Security Vetting", with the ministry's top civil servant, Olly Robbins, ousted late Thursday.
The prime minister had "lost confidence in him" over the botched process, senior minister Darren Jones said.
Parliament's main foreign affairs watchdog committee said on Friday it has requested Robbins give evidence about the issue next Tuesday.
Despite the government's stance, The Independent newspaper reported last September of "serious concerns" Mandelson "did not clear security vetting for the role but the prime minister pushed through his appointment anyway".
Five months later, Starmer insisted publicly Mandelson had passed vetting.
Calls for the UK leader to resign have intensified, with the leaders of all the UK's main opposition parties urging him to quit since The Guardian first reported the security vetting story on Thursday.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch wrote on X that "Starmer has betrayed our national security. He should go".
Jones denied Starmer was at risk, claiming "the public can see in Keir Starmer that they have a strong, credible leader who has influence on the world stage".
The ambassador to Washington is seen as Britain's most prestigious and most important diplomatic post, in charge of nurturing the so-called "special relationship" with the United States.
Earlier in the year, two of Starmer's top political aides resigned as the scandal grew.
Starmer himself has faced repeated judgement questions over selecting Mandelson.
He has accused the ex-envoy of lying about the extent of his ties to Epstein during the vetting process. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
