Khaberni - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, on Wednesday, rejected calls for his resignation in parliament, following recent developments in the case of appointing the former British ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, to this position, despite his connections with the late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of sex crimes.
Starmer stated during a weekly questioning session, "Nothing will deter me from performing my duty to serve our country."
Starmer faced questioning in parliament for the second time this week, related to appointing Epstein's friend to one of the most prestigious diplomatic positions in Britain, before dismissing him in September 2025, accusing him of "repeatedly lying" to the government about the extent of his relations with Epstein who died in prison in 2019.
The case resurfaced last week when The Guardian reported that the foreign office had "granted Mandelson a security clearance to hold the position in January 2025, despite a negative assessment issued by the body responsible for verifying his record."
Oliver Robbins, a former official in the foreign ministry dismissed by Starmer after the newspaper reports, spoke before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday about "continuous pressure" exerted by Starmer's office while nominating Mandelson for the ambassadorial post to the United States.
Robbins said that the Prime Minister "declared that Mandelson was his candidate"; however, Starmer confirmed on Wednesday that Robbins’ testimony had "put an end to all accusations directed against him."
Starmer insisted that his office did not press Robbins to expedite approval for Mandelson's appointment, questioning a key part of the official's testimony before a parliamentary committee the day before.
Starmer said in the session, "No related pressures occurred," according to Bloomberg News.
Mandelson and Moscow
Meanwhile, the Conservative opposition leader Kimi Badenoch, on Wednesday, raised the issue of Peter Mandelson's connections to Russia.
Badenoch pointed out a report that mentioned Mandelson "had remained a long-time member of the board of the defense company Sistema, linked to the Kremlin, after the first Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014."
She questioned, "Why would the Prime Minister want to appoint a man linked to the Kremlin as ambassador to Washington?"
On April 28, the parliamentary committee will listen to the testimony of Morgan McSweeney, former director of Starmer's office, after listening to Robbins on Tuesday.
This close associate of Mandelson – who was considered Starmer's right-hand man and hidden influencer – resigned at the beginning of February, admitting that he made a "mistake" when he advised the Prime Minister to appoint Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.
