Nigeria: UK PM Starmer admits error in Mandelson envoy appointment after Epstein links resurface

By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he was wrong to appoint Labour politician Peter Mandelson as UK envoy to Washington, as he sought to contain fallout over the former envoy’s ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer told parliament he and other ministers were not informed until last week that Mandelson had failed independent security vetting before taking up the post last year. He blamed Foreign Office officials for withholding the information.

“At the heart of this, there is also a judgment I made that was wrong. I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson,” Starmer said. “If I had known before he took up his post that recommendation was that developed vetting clearance should be denied, I would not have gone ahead with the appointment

Mandelson, whose friendship with Epstein was long known, became Britain’s envoy to Washington in 2026. Starmer sacked him in September 2026, seven months into the role, after new details emerged about the depth of his ties to Epstein. Epstein died in a US prison in 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges.

The Prime Minister said 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.”

Last Thursday, Starmer dismissed the Foreign Office’s top civil servant, Olly Robins, and announced a review of the security vetting process. Robins is set to give his account to a parliamentary watchdog committee on Tuesday. Former civil servants have accused Starmer of scapegoating Robins.

Opposition leaders have called for Starmer to step down, with allegations ranging from incompetence to misleading parliament and the public. Starmer had told parliament in February that “full due process” was followed when Mandelson was vetted and cleared for the role.