Mandelson Fiasco Leaves Starmer Looking Like a Lame Duck

WATCH: Olly Robbins, the top UK bureaucrat who granted clearance for Peter Mandelson to take up the role as US ambassador against the recommendation of security officials, testifies before lawmakers in London.Source: Bloomberg

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By Alex Wickham, Joe Mayes, and Rose Henderson

April 21, 2026 at 8:12 PM UTC

Updated on

April 22, 2026 at 7:19 AM UTC

Forty-eight hours of brutal public inquiry into Keir Starmer’s judgment have left the prime minister looking increasingly like a leader on his way out.

Starmer had already been battling for months to save his job before a former top Foreign Office official alleged on Tuesday that he was pressured by 10 Downing St. to approve Peter Mandelson’s appointment as Britain’s envoy to Washington. The official, Olly Robbins, told a parliamentary committee that the prime minister’s office was “dismissive” in its approach to the security vetting that would ultimately raise red flags about the Labour grandee’s background.