Starmer Hears Calls to Resign

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced calls Thursday to resign after it emerged that Peter Mandelson was initially denied security clearance for the post of ambassador to the US, which he was eventually fired from over his close links to disgraced American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Following the revelation in the Guardian newspaper, the AP reports, the government said Starmer was not aware that the Foreign Office had overruled a security vetting process for Mandelson to become UK ambassador to Washington until this week.

Starmer previously insisted that due process was followed in the appointment and that Mandelson, who was fired in September 2025, had lied about the extent of his links to Epstein. Once Starmer was informed, a spokesperson for the government said the prime minister "immediately instructed officials to establish the facts about why the developed vetting was granted, in order to enact plans to update the House of Commons." Opposition lawmakers said Starmer should resign if he had misled Parliament. Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, said Starmer is "definitely in resigning territory," while Ed Davey, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, said Starmer "must go" if he misled Parliament and lied to the public.