Embattled Starmer denies misleading MPs on US envoy
London—Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday denied misleading Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK envoy to Washington, and accused officials of deliberately hiding information that the Labour politician had been denied security clearance.
Starmer, who is struggling to contain the fallout over his decision to name Mandelson to the post, admitted he had been wrong to appoint the 72-year-old.
Mandelson was already a known associate of late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and twice had to resign from earlier Labour government posts.
Addressing Parliament again about the deepening political row, Starmer said: “At the heart of this, there is also a judgment I made that was wrong. I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson.”
The scandal has threatened to bring down the prime minister, who faced fresh calls to quit last week after it was revealed that Mandelson had failed security checks.
‘Gaslighting’
Already unpopular with the public and some Labour members of Parliament (MPs), Starmer has insisted he and other ministers had not been told until last week that the Mandelson’s security approval had been declined.
“It beggars belief that throughout the whole timeline of events, officials in the Foreign Office saw fit to withhold this information from the most senior ministers in our system, in government,” he told MPs.
The information about Mandelson’s failed security vetting had been withheld from him, he said.
“I was not provided with information I should have been provided with. Had I been provided, I wouldn’t have made the decision. It was a deliberate decision. It wasn’t negligence. It was a deliberate decision not to tell me.”
Two lawmakers were removed from the session for accusing Starmer of lying over the issue and refusing to withdraw their statements.
“He is gaslighting the nation. So let’s call this out for what it is. The prime minister is a barefaced liar,” said left-winger Zarah Sultana before being ordered out by the speaker.
