Lammy rallies behind Starmer as rival party leaders double down on calls for PM to go over Mandelson row
Lammy has insisted Starmer would never have approved the appointment had he known Mandelson had failed vetting
David Lammy has thrown his support behind Sir Keir Starmer as the Prime Minister faces mounting pressure to resign over the row surrounding Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador.
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Starmer has come under intense scrutiny after the Government confirmed that security vetting had recommended Mandelson should not be appointed, but Foreign Office officials overruled that advice without the Prime Minister’s knowledge.
Opposition figures, including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, have seized on the revelations – arguing Sir Keir’s account is not credible and urging him to step down.
But Lammy, who was Foreign Secretary at the time and is now Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, insisted Starmer would never have approved the appointment had he known Mandelson had failed vetting.
“I have absolutely no doubt at all, knowing the PM as I do, that had he known that Peter Mandelson had not passed the vetting, he would never, ever have appointed him ambassador,” Lammy told the Guardian.
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The Deputy Prime Minister also said it was inexplicable that Starmer had not been told about the original recommendation, in remarks that amount to one of the clearest defences yet of the Prime Minister from a senior Cabinet ally.
The comments come ahead of a Commons statement on Monday, when Starmer is expected to set out his full account of how Mandelson was appointed despite the vetting concerns.
The controversy has raised serious questions over the Prime Minister’s judgement and what he knew about the process.
Starmer is also expected to defend his decision to sack Sir Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office’s most senior civil servant, over the department’s handling of the affair.
Badenoch said the Prime Minister had lost the moral authority to govern and accused him of putting national security at risk.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, she said: “The hypocrisy is staggering... He is taking the public for fools.”
She added that the public should be “furious” with Starmer, accusing him of focusing on political survival while “decisions are delayed and problems fester”.
Farage also attacked the Prime Minister, calling it “totally unbelievable” that he had not been told the Foreign Office had overruled security concerns.
He said Starmer “must resign this week”, accusing him of misleading Parliament and the public.
Despite the intensifying political pressure, no senior Labour figures seen as potential rivals to Starmer have publicly broken ranks.
Mandelson, a senior Labour figure, was appointed ambassador by Starmer before later being removed from the role over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A lawyer for Mandelson did not comment when reports first emerged that he had failed part of the vetting process.
Sir Olly Robbins is expected to give evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee on Tuesday, in what could become another pivotal moment in a week likely to shape Starmer’s political future.