Deputy PM David Lammy said if Starmer had known of Mandelson’s Epstein ties, ‘he would never, ever’ have appointed him US ambassador
3-MIN READ3-MIN1 ListenAssociated PressPublished: 1:34am, 20 Apr 2026Senior Cabinet ministers on Sunday rallied around UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose leadership is teetering over his decision to give Britain’s most important diplomatic job to Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished politician and friend of Jeffrey Epstein.
Starmer will face restive lawmakers in Parliament on Monday to fight for his job after the explosive revelation that Mandelson was appointed ambassador to the United States despite failing security checks.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told Sky News on Sunday that Starmer “is a man of integrity and there is no way he would have proceeded” with Mandelson’s appointment had he known.
The top civil servant in the Foreign Office, Olly Robbins, was forced to resign on Thursday – though allies say he was just doing his job and is being made a scapegoat. Robbins is expected to give his own version of events to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
