London — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Had to face more heat on Tuesday over the appointment of peter mandelson As ambassador to Washington, lawmakers are set to vote on whether he should be investigated by the parliamentary standards watchdog over the unfortunate decision.
Starmer’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney is also scheduled to testify before a group of lawmakers investigating how scandal-tainted friend Mandelson was Jeffrey EpsteinDespite his failure, he was given major diplomatic assignments security check.
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee will question McSweeney on Tuesday morning, before the full House debates the opposition Conservative Party’s demand for Parliament’s privileges committee to investigate Starmer’s explanation of how Mandelson was appointed.
Both are potentially dangerous moments for Starmer, who has spent weeks defending ask to resign On the Mandelson saga. Starmer fired mandelson After new details emerged in September about the ambassador’s friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender. Died in prison in 2019.
Police started investigation Mandelson was charged in February with passing sensitive government information to Epstein when he was a member of the British government in 2009.
McSweeney, a protégé of Mandelson who served as Starmer’s top aide, resigned in februaryHe said that he takes the responsibility of appointing him as ambassador. He is sure to be asked about the allegations against former top Foreign Office civil servant Ollie Robbins starmer’s staff Pressured officials to hasten confirmation so that Mandelson could initially assume office as US President donald trump Second term of.
Starmer has denied that anyone in his office has put pressure on the civil service.
The prime minister fired Robbins earlier this month following the revelation that Mandelson was approved for the job against the recommendation of the government’s security vetting agency. Starmer called it “astonishing” that Foreign Office officials failed to tell him about the security concerns.
Critics say Starmer’s decision to appoint Mandelson in the first place is evidence of bad judgment by a prime minister who has done so taking wrong steps again and again Since he led the centre-left Labor Party landslide election victory In July 2024.
starmer already defused a potential crisis In February, some Labor MPs urged him to step down over Mandelson’s appointment. He may face a new challenge if, as expected, Labor is defeated in local and regional elections on May 7, giving voters a chance to pass a mid-term verdict on the government.
It is unclear whether enough Labor MPs will vote with the opposition on Tuesday to refer Starmer to the privileges committee, which has the power to suspend MPs, including the prime minister, from Parliament for breaching the rules.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer “repeatedly misled the House of Commons” when he said “full due process” was followed on Mandelson’s appointment.
The Prime Minister’s Office called Tuesday’s vote “a desperate political stunt by the Conservative Party one week before the May election.”
The censure by the committee also exerts considerable moral pressure to resign. Its investigation into lockdown-breaking gatherings in government offices during the COVID-19 pandemic helped end the political career of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Johnson stepped down as an MLA in 2023 after the committee found he had repeatedly misled Parliament On the “Partygate” scandal.
