UK prime minister admits making wrong judgement appointing Mandelson as ambassador to Washington
發佈日期: 2026-04-21 21:11
TVB News
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has acknowledged that he made the wrong judgement when he appointed Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington, but said he would not have done so if he had known Mandelson failed security checks.
This as ex-civil servant behind the decision to approve Mandelson's appointment Olly Robbins said he felt political pressure to rush through the appointment.
The British prime minister is facing calls to resign after the revelation that Peter Mandelson was given the job as UK ambassador to Washington despite failing security checks.
Starmer told lawmakers in the House of Commons that he took responsibility for appointing Mandelson. "At the heart of this there is also a judgment I made that was wrong. I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson. I take responsibility for that decision and I apologise again to the victims of the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein who were clearly failed by my decision."
He said also that he did not have all the relevant information when he appointed Mandelson.
That I wasn't told that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting when he was appointed is staggering. That I wasn't told he failed security vetting when I was telling parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable. No only was I not told, no minister was told. And I am absolutely furious about that.
Starmer's Labour Party is not facing an imminent election over the Mandelson scandal, the next election is in 2029 but the case has led his party to ask if Starmer is the right man for the job.
Jill Lawless of The Associated Press said: "This scandal and rumbling Peter Mandelson revelations over the past months have fed into a sense among many lawmakers from Starmer's own Labour Party that there is something wrong with Prime Minister's judgment. Since he was elected in July 2024, he's made a series of missteps. He's done policy U-turns. He's churned through a lot of senior aides in his office. And it's all adding to this question in the minds of many lawmakers: is he the right man for the job?"
