In a pivotal Commons statement to MPs on Monday, Keir Starmer laid out the most detailed timeline of Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the UK ambassador to the US, the vetting process that ended with the Foreign Office overruling the UK Security Vetting (UKSV) and what he said were chances to tell him that civil servants had failed to take.
December 2024
Mandelson due diligence begins
Cabinet Office conducts a due diligence exercise on how suitable Mandelson was for the role. Starmer told the Commons his No 10 staff put questions to Mandelson on the department’s behalf.
10 December 2024
Mandelson answers due diligence questions
Mandelson responded to questions from the Cabinet Office’s due diligence exercise, posed to him by Downing Street staff, Starmer told MPs in the Commons.
18 December 2024
Starmer decided to make Mandelson ambassador
“I made the decision to appoint him,” Starmer told MPs, after receiving final advice on the due diligence process on 11 December 2024.
20 December 2024
Mandelson publicly announced as UK ambassador to the US
Despite his known links to the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and having been forced to resign twice as a minister in previous governments, Mandelson is appointed as US ambassador.
23 December 2024
Security vetting on Mandelson begins
UKSV carried out Mandelson’s vetting “in the normal way”, the prime minister said which includes, “collecting relevant information as well as interviewing the applicant, in this case on two occasions”.
25 January 2025
Mandelson starts role as UK ambassador to the US
Speaking to the Commons, Starmer insisted that it was “usual for security vetting to happen after the appointment but before starting in post”, given that was the procedure in place at the time. The prime minister, fully in a defensive posture, insisted Mandelson’s appointment was made “subject to security clearance”.
28 January 2025
Mandelson fails security vetting
UKSV recommended to the Foreign Office that developed vetting clearance should be denied to Mandelson.
29 January 2025
FCDO approves Mandelson’s security vetting
Foreign Office “officials made the decision to grant developed vetting clearance for Peter Mandelson”, Starmer told MPs fully blaming the department’s former head civil servant. The prime minister went further attacking FCDO civil servants saying “for many departments, a decision from the UKSV is binding, but for the (FCDO), the final decision on developed vetting clearance is made by Foreign Office officials not UKSV”.
10 September 2025
Starmer realises Mandelson lied to No 10 staff
The prime minister claims he only realised Mandelson lied in the due diligence exercise when Bloomberg released emails which revealed Mandelson had told Epstein to “fight for early release”.
11 September 2025
Mandelson sacked and No 10 dodge questions on Mandelson’s vetting
Starmer sacked Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US hours after the Independent asked No 10 whether Mandelson was actually cleared by vetting. A spokesperson replied: “Vetting done by FCDO in normal way.”
3 November 2025
Security vetting starts after political appointments made, former cabinet secretary says
In a bid to prove his case, the prime minister quoted on the floor of the Commons that his former cabinet secretary Chris Wormald told the foreign affairs select committee that when the government makes appointments “from outside the civil service, the normal thing is for security clearance to happen after the appointment, but before the person signs a contract and takes up post”.
16 September 2026
‘All processes into vetting followed’ – Sir Chris Wormald said
The prime minister quotes his former cabinet secretary again at the dispatch box, this time referring to Wormald’s conclusion, long after Mandelson was sacked, that “appropriate processes” were followed at the Foreign Office.
14 April 2026
Starmer told: Mandelson failed security clearance but FCDO granted it anyway
At 8pm, last Tuesday, Starmer said he “found out for the first time that on the 29 January 2025, before Peter Mandelson took up his position as ambassador of the Foreign Office, officials granted him developed vetting clearance against the specific recommendation of the UKSVA”.
In the same meeting with officials Starmer said he asked them to “urgently establish the facts”, because he wanted to know “who made the decision on what basis”.
16 April 2026
The Guardian reveals Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision
Olly Robbins was forced out of his job as the permanent secretary of the Foreign Office, after the Guardian revealed his department overruled a decision to deny Mandelson security vetting clearance.
17 April 2026
The Guardian reveals Starmer left in dark over Mandelson’s failed vetting
Robbins, the former permanent secretary of the Foreign Office, cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo and another top civil servant failed to immediately tell the prime minister that Mandelson should be denied clearance, this newspaper revealed.
20 April 2026
Starmer goes full on defence in crucial Commons statement
Starmer said he took responsibility for appointing Mandelson, but blamed Foreign Office officials for “not passing information to me” that would have highlighted Mandelson failed security clearance. The prime minister insists he wouldn’t have hired Mandelson if he had known this was the case.
The prime minister also ordered an investigation into security concerns relating to Mandelson’s tenure.
“There is no law that stops civil servants sensibly flagging UKSV recommendations while protecting detailed, sensitive vetting information, to allow ministers to make judgments on appointments or on explaining matters to parliament,” he said.
