British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing intense political pressure as he seeks a way out of the crisis caused by revelations over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States, despite his links to Jeffrey Epstein. In an attempt to manage the situation, Starmer has sacked the Foreign Office's top civilian, Ollie Robbins, who was running the diplomatic service. The decision came after it emerged that his office had failed to inform the prime minister that Mandelson had failed security clearance before the appointment.
According to BBC reports, Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had lost confidence in Robbins. A spokesman for the Prime Minister confirmed that the Foreign Office had allowed Mandelson to take up the post “despite the advice of security agencies”, while stressing that neither Starmer nor members of the government were aware of this fact until recently.
Mandelson was appointed ambassador in December 2024 and took office in February 2025, but was sacked just seven months later after his links to Epstein came to light. The opposition has reacted strongly. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Starmer of “betrayal of national security”, demanding his resignation. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey also stated that if the prime minister had misled Parliament, he should leave.
However, senior government official Darren Jones said Starmer was not considering resigning and that his position was not in danger. On the other hand, former Conservative foreign secretary James Cleverly described Robbins' dismissal as an attempt to use him as a "scapegoat", suggesting that such decisions cannot be made without the knowledge of the highest political levels. Meanwhile, British police have launched an investigation into Mandelson, after the US Department of Justice released new documents suggesting that he may have shared government information with Epstein while he was a minister in Gordon Brown's government.
The British government has promised to release documents related to the matter, as the crisis continues to deepen and political pressure on Starmer remains high.
