Allies back Starmer as Mandelson and Epstein leave the UK leader fighting for his job

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves after the multinational virtual summit and press conference at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, Friday April 17, 2026 (Tom Nicholson/Pool Photo via AP) 2026-04-19T09:41:40Z LONDON (AP) — Senior Cabinet ministers on Sunday rallied around U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose leadership is teetering over his decision to give Britain’s most important diplomatic job to Peter Mandelson , a scandal-tarnished politician and friend of Jeffrey Epstein . Starmer will face restive lawmakers in Parliament Monday to fight for his job after the explosive revelation that Mandelson was appointed ambassador to the United States despite failing security checks . Starmer says he’s “furious” that he wasn’t told at the time, in January 2025, that an intensive vetting process had recommended Mandelson not be given security clearance. The Foreign Office, which oversees diplomatic appointments, cleared him anyway. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said that if Starmer had known, “he would never, ever have appointed him ambassador.” freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told Sky News on Sunday that Starmer “is a man of integrity and there is no way he would have proceeded” with Mandelson’s appointment had he known. The top civil servant in the Foreign Office, Olly Robbins, was forced to resign on Thursday — though allies say he was just doing his job and is being made a scapegoat. Robbins is expected to give his own version of events to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday. Simon McDonald, who was top civil servant in the Foreign Office until 2020, said Robbins had been “thrown under the bus.” He told the BBC that vetting information was highly sensitive and “would never be shared” with the prime minister or his staff. /* Desktop-first: fully collapse by default */ #ap-readmore-embed { display: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; height: 0; min-height: 0; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; position: relative; z-index: 2; } /* Only show on mobile */ @media (max-width: 767px) { #ap-readmore-embed { display: block; margin: 28px 0; height: auto; overflow: visible; } } #ap-readmore-embed .ap-readmore-btn { appearance: none; -webkit-appearance: none; border: 0; background: #000; color: #fff; cursor: pointer; display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; gap: 10px; padding: 14px 22px; border-radius: 999px; font-family: inherit, "AP Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-size: 16px; 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io.observe(btn); } var stopEl = document.querySelector(STOP_SELECTOR); if (!stopEl) return; var rootCandidates = [ embed.closest(".Page"), embed.closest("article"), embed.closest("main"), document.body ].filter(Boolean); var root = rootCandidates.find(function (c) { return c.contains(stopEl); }) || document.body; var all = root.getElementsByTagName("*"); var hidden = []; for (var i = 0; i All the main opposition parties have called on Starmer to resign. Right-of-center Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said the prime minister’s position is “untenable.” Ed Davey, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, said Sunday that the government is “in perpetual crisis, and I don’t think they can get out of that unless Keir Starmer moves aside.” freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); Starmer’s Labour Party holds a large parliamentary majority, so power to topple him lies with his own lawmakers, who are already glum about the party’s dire poll ratings. Starmer defused a potential crisis in February, when some Labour lawmakers called for him to resign over the Mandelson appointment. But he could face a leadership challenge after local and regional elections on May 7, in which Labour is expected to do badly. Some Labour lawmakers think it would be damaging to change leaders at a time of global instability, with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and with three years until a national election must be called. Others despair at the prime minister’s repeated missteps since he led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024. Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and has been forced into repeated policy U-turns. Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. 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'block' : 'none'; }; const nlHideErrorNLMW25 = () => nlSetErrorNLMW25(''); const nlSetSubmittedNLMW25 = () => { rootNLMW25.classList.add('is-submitted-nlmw25'); emailInputNLMW25.value = 'SUBMITTED'; emailInputNLMW25.style.fontWeight = 'bold'; emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('readonly', 'readonly'); emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('aria-invalid', 'false'); nlHideErrorNLMW25(); }; const nlSubscribeNLMW25 = (tokenNLMW25) => { if (nlIsSubmittingNLMW25) return; if (botFieldNLMW25?.value) { console.warn('Bot field filled --', botFieldNLMW25.value); nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.botBlocked); return; } const emailNLMW25 = String(emailInputNLMW25.value || '').trim(); const emailOkNLMW25 = nlIsValidEmailNLMW25(emailNLMW25); const disclaimerOkNLMW25 = checkboxNLMW25.checked; if (!emailOkNLMW25 && !disclaimerOkNLMW25) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.invalidBoth); emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('aria-invalid', 'true'); emailInputNLMW25.focus(); return; } if (!emailOkNLMW25) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.invalidEmail); emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('aria-invalid', 'true'); emailInputNLMW25.focus(); return; } if (!disclaimerOkNLMW25) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.disclaimerRequired); checkboxNLMW25.focus(); return; } nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = true; const headersNLMW25 = { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }; if (tokenNLMW25) { headersNLMW25[nlConfigNLMW25.recaptchaHeader] = tokenNLMW25; } fetch(nlConfigNLMW25.apiUrl, { method: 'POST', headers: headersNLMW25, body: JSON.stringify({ emailId: emailNLMW25, newsLetterListToSubscribe: newsletterListNLMW25 }), /* This is the key change: send the current page URL + UTM params as the referrer. Example: https://.../article/... ?utm_source=embed */ referrer: requestReferrerNLMW25, referrerPolicy: 'strict-origin-when-cross-origin' }) .then(response => response.json() .then(data => ({ status: response.status, data })) .catch(() => ({ status: response.status, data: null })) ) .then(result => { nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; const hasVerificationErrorNLMW25 = result.data && ( result.data.message?.includes('Verification Failed') || result.data.error?.includes('Verification Failed') ); if (hasVerificationErrorNLMW25) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.verificationFailed); return; } if (result.status === 200) { if (typeof window.NLSignup === 'function') { try { window.NLSignup(emailNLMW25); } catch (err) {} } window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('nl:newsletterSignup:nlmw25', { detail: { email: emailNLMW25, source: 'Morning Wire Embed', newsletters: newsletterListNLMW25, referrer: requestReferrerNLMW25 } })); nlSetSubmittedNLMW25(); } else { const errorMsgNLMW25 = result.data?.message || result.data?.error || nlConfigNLMW25.messages.genericError; nlSetErrorNLMW25(errorMsgNLMW25); } }) .catch(error => { nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; console.error('Newsletter subscription error:', error); nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.genericError); }); }; const nlAttemptRecaptchaNLMW25 = () => { if (!recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25) { nlWaitForRecaptchaNLMW25(isAvailable => { if (!isAvailable) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaRequired); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; return; } nlExecuteRecaptchaNLMW25() .then(token => nlSubscribeNLMW25(token)) .catch(() => nlSubscribeNLMW25(null)); }); return; } nlLoadRecaptchaScriptNLMW25(recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25, success => { if (success === false) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaLoadFail); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; return; } nlWaitForRecaptchaNLMW25(isAvailable => { if (!isAvailable) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaRequired); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; return; } const runExecuteNLMW25 = () => { nlExecuteRecaptchaNLMW25() .then(token => nlSubscribeNLMW25(token)) .catch(error => { if (error?.message === 'recaptcha_failed') { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaFailed); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; } else { console.warn('reCAPTCHA error:', error); nlSubscribeNLMW25(null); } }); }; if (typeof window.grecaptcha.ready === 'function') { window.grecaptcha.ready(runExecuteNLMW25); } else { runExecuteNLMW25(); } }); }); }; formNLMW25.addEventListener('submit', e => { e.preventDefault(); if (rootNLMW25.classList.contains('is-submitted-nlmw25') || nlIsSubmittingNLMW25) return; nlHideErrorNLMW25(); nlAttemptRecaptchaNLMW25(); }); emailInputNLMW25.addEventListener('input', () => { nlHideErrorNLMW25(); emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('aria-invalid', 'false'); }); checkboxNLMW25.addEventListener('change', nlHideErrorNLMW25); }); })(NL_DEFAULT_CONFIG_NLMW25); Critics say the Mandelson appointment reveals the prime minister’s lack of judgment. Documents released by the government in March, after being forced to by Parliament, showed Starmer was warned by his staff that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 , exposed the government to “reputational risk.” freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); But his expertise as a former European Union trade chief and contacts among global elites were considered assets in dealing with President Donald Trump’s administration. He lasted less than nine months in the job. Starmer fired Mandelson in September 2025 after evidence emerged that he had lied about the extent of his links to Epstein. The release of millions of pages of Epstein-related documents by the U.S. Department of Justice in January brought more revelations, showing that Mandelson’s relationship with the financier continued even after Epstein’s conviction in 2008 for sexual offenses involving a minor. Emails also suggested Mandelson had passed on sensitive, and potentially market-moving, government information to Epstein in 2009 after the global financial crisis. British police launched a criminal probe and arrested Mandelson Feb. 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has been released without bail conditions as the police investigation continues. Mandelson has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged . He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct. JILL LAWLESS Lawless is based in London, covering British politics, diplomacy and culture and top stories from the UK and beyond. She has reported for the AP from two dozen countries on four continents. twitter mailto