Davey tells Starmer to ‘come clean’ and publish advice on Mandelson appointment
Sir Keir Starmer, who has launched an investigation, has denied knowing Lord Mandelson failed security vetting
Sir Keir Starmer must publish the advice he received on Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US ahead of his Commons appearance on Monday, the Liberal Democrat leader has said.
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A due diligence assessment prepared by the Cabinet Office propriety and ethics team before the Labour peer was sent to Washington flagged his links to US paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The Foreign Office then conducted developed vetting on Lord Mandelson, but despite officials recommending that the former MP should not be given the appointment, it went ahead.
Sir Keir Starmer, who has launched an investigation, has denied knowing Lord Mandelson failed security vetting and said none of his ministers were told.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said on Saturday: “Keir Starmer needs to come clean and publish the initial due diligence report carried out on Peter Mandelson before he was appointed.
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“No more ministers hiding behind process and dragging their feet, the public deserve full transparency now.
“We need to know exactly what concerns the Prime Minister decided to ignore, and why, before he updates the Commons on Monday.”
Sir Keir has pledged to set out “all of the relevant facts” and offer “full transparency and full accountability” when he addresses MPs next week.
The Liberal Democrat leader added: “It looks like Starmer was so desperate to suck up to Donald Trump he was willing to appoint someone as US ambassador with known links to Epstein and a past littered with controversies.
“This was clearly a catastrophic error that has put our national security at risk. Chucking civil servants under the bus isn’t good enough, the Prime Minister needs to take responsibility for his own actions.”
The Foreign Office’s chief civil servant, Sir Olly Robbins, was sacked on Thursday night after Sir Keir and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper lost confidence in him.
Lord Mandelson, a political appointment rather than a career diplomat, was sacked from his Washington role last September when more details emerged about his relationship with Epstein, who died in 2019.
Sir Ed had earlier said the Prime Minister “must go” if he had lied about the details of the appointment, and called for the Commons Privileges Committee to consider whether Sir Keir had misled Parliament.
His party also urged the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, to investigate.