LONDON: British lawmakers debated Tuesday whether to launch a parliamentary probe into Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a scandal surrounding sacked US envoy Peter Mandelson that he is struggling to shake off.
Members of parliament discussed whether to refer Starmer to a committee to consider if he misled parliament over the appointment of the ex-associate of late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to the plum diplomatic post.
It is the latest development in an unrelenting controversy that has plagued Starmer's Labour government for months, hampering its work and leading to calls for him to resign.
Opposition Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch said it was "very obvious" that what Starmer had told the House of Commons regarding Mandelson's 2024 appointment was "not correct".
"It's clear that full due process was not followed," she told MPs, opening the debate, which was expected to last several hours and conclude with a vote on whether to open an inquiry.
Starmer denies allegations that his office applied pressure on the foreign ministry to approve Mandelson's appointment as Britain's ambassador in Washington despite having failed security vetting.
Earlier this month, Starmer sacked the most senior civil servant in the foreign office, Olly Robbins, for not telling him or other ministers that Mandelson had not passed the checks.
Starmer commands a large majority in the lower house of parliament. MPs from his ruling Labour party have been ordered to vote against the motion, meaning it is unlikely to pass.
Speaking to Sky News late on Monday, the prime minister branded the move "a political stunt" ahead of local elections in England, Scotland and Wales next week.
"We've got huge amounts of transparency going on already," Starmer insisted.
'Serious mistake'
Starmer sacked Mandelson in September 2025 after a fresh batch of revelations came to light about the extent of the latter's friendship with Epstein, who reportedly died in prison in 2019.
But the row has only escalated since, with Starmer's former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and ex-communications head Tim Allan forced to step down earlier this year.
Starmer's cause has not been helped by the fact that UK police are investigating Mandelson over allegations he committed misconduct in office while serving as a Labour minister more than a decade ago.
Mandelson is accused of leaking sensitive information to Epstein. He denies wrongdoing.
On Tuesday, McSweeney told parliament's foreign affairs committee that he made a "serious mistake" in advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson.
He denied telling officials that Mandelson's vetting checks "should be cleared at all costs".
Earlier, Robbins' predecessor at the foreign office, Philip Barton, told the committee that it was unusual for an appointment to be announced before the vetting process was completed.
MPs will decide whether the cross-party privileges committee, which investigates potential breaches of parliamentary conduct, should look into Starmer.
That committee was responsible for former prime minister Boris Johnson's exit from frontline politics after it investigated him for misleading parliament over the so-called "partygate" breaches of Covid-19 laws.
He quit as an MP in 2023 before the committee published a report recommending his suspension.
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