Plaid Cymru calls on Starmer to resign over Mandelson vetting scandal

Plaid Cymru has called on Sir Keir Starmer to resign after it emerged that Lord Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting before being appointed as Britain’s ambassador to the United States.

The party’s Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts MP said the Prime Minister had misled the public and called for his immediate resignation.

She said: “The rushed appointment of Mandelson without the appropriate security clearance was clearly driven more by political convenience and personal connections than by due diligence and scrutiny. This raises serious questions about Starmer’s integrity and judgement.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that Starmer misled the public about what he knew and when. Transparency is essential, and any attempt to withhold documents from the Intelligence and Security Committee could breach parliamentary obligations. The public has a right to full disclosure.

“The right thing to do now, for Epstein’s victims and for the public, is for him to resign.”

The calls came after the Guardian reported that security officials initially denied Lord Mandelson clearance following a highly confidential background vetting process, but that the Foreign Office took the rare step of overruling the recommendation.

Lord Mandelson was told days later that he had passed.

Due process

Sir Keir had previously insisted that due process was followed in the appointment and that security vetting carried out independently by the security services “gave him clearance for the role.” He has also said Lord Mandelson lied about the extent of his links with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also said the Prime Minister had misled the House, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Sir Keir had “lied to the British public” and must resign if that proved to be the case. The Green Party also called for his resignation.

Lord Mandelson was sacked from his Washington role last September when further details emerged about his relationship with Epstein, who died in 2019. Documents published last month showed Sir Keir had been warned before announcing the ambassadorship of a “general reputational risk” over Lord Mandelson’s association with Epstein.

Further documents are yet to be released, with the Guardian reporting that senior government officials have been weighing whether to withhold material from Parliament that would show Lord Mandelson failed the security vetting.

A UK Government spokesperson said the Prime Minister was not aware Lord Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting for the role of ambassador to the US until earlier this week, adding officials in the Foreign Office overruled the process.

The spokesperson said: “The security vetting process for Peter Mandelson was sponsored by the FCDO. The decision to grant Developed Vetting to Peter Mandelson against the recommendation of UK Security Vetting was taken by officials in the FCDO.

“Neither the Prime Minister, nor any Government Minister, was aware that Peter Mandelson was granted Developed Vetting against the advice of UK Security Vetting until earlier this week.

“Once the Prime Minister was informed he 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.

“The Government is committed to complying with the Humble Address in full as soon as possible. Any documentation within the scope of the Humble Address that requires redaction on the basis of national security or international relations will be provided to the ISC. This will include documents provided to the FCDO by UK Security Vetting.”