Britain’s Starmer faces vote on possible parliamentary probe over Mandelson, Times newspaper reports

LONDON – Britain’s Parliament will vote on April 28 over a possible inquiry into British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, looking at whether he misled the House of Commons over the appointment of former US ambassador Peter Mandelson.

Any such inquiry could have serious implications for Mr Starmer’s future. He has so far resisted pressure to quit over his decision to hire Mr Mandelson, but if found to have knowingly misled Parliament, his position would likely become untenable.

House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said he had approved a request from opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch for Parliament to debate and vote upon whether the Committee of Privileges should look into the matter.

Mr Mandelson was fired by Mr Starmer in September 2025 after his relationship with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found to be deeper than previously known.

That has raised doubts about Mr Starmer’s judgment in hiring him, exacerbated by the revelation that a security vetting body had described the appointment as a borderline case and that it was leaning against granting clearance – a decision foreign ministry officials overruled without telling the Prime Minister.

Mr Starmer’s centre-left Labour Party has a majority in Parliament, which could allow the government to instruct its lawmakers to vote down the launch of an inquiry.

On April 27, the government published a letter sent in September 2025 from former cabinet secretary Chris Wormald, saying he had concluded “that appropriate processes were followed in both the appointment and withdrawal” of Mr Mandelson as ambassador.

A spokesperson from Mr Starmer’s office described Ms Badenoch’s push for a vote as a “desperate political stunt” ahead of local elections due on May 7.

Mr Hoyle said his decision to allow the vote should not be taken as an indicator of whether Mr Starmer had done anything wrong or not.

If Parliament did vote in favour of an inquiry, the committee, made up of lawmakers from the three biggest parties, would examine whether Mr Starmer’s statements on Mr Mandelson amount to knowingly or inadvertently misleading the House of Commons.

The focus of any such enquiry would be expected to fall on Mr Starmer’s statement that due process was followed when hiring Mr Mandelson.

The committee previously found that former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson had knowingly misled Parliament over rule-breaking parties held during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Johnson had already stood down as prime minister by the time the report was published, but he resigned from Parliament altogether after seeing a draft copy of the findings. REUTERS