UK parliament votes against inquiry into PM Starmer over Mandelson
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) Annual Delegate Meeting at the Winter Gardens Blackpool, in Blackpool, Britain, April 27, 2026. REUTERS
British lawmakers voted on Tuesday against launching an inquiry into whether Prime Minister Keir Starmer misled parliament in statements about his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
Starmer picked Labour veteran Mandelson for the top diplomatic posting in December 2024 and then sacked him last September when his ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were found to have been deeper than previously known.
The prime minister has resisted pressure to quit over the matter, saying Mandelson lied about his relationship with Epstein. Starmer also said officials had kept information from him about the vetting process that would have stopped him from making the appointment.
Read: Starmer's Mandelson woes deepen
On Tuesday, lawmakers voted 335 to 223 against asking the Committee of Privileges to investigate whether Starmer had misled the House of Commons on several matters, including by saying "full due process" had been followed around the appointment.
If the committee had found Starmer deliberately misled parliament, he would have been expected to resign.
Starmer had criticised the attempt, led by the opposition Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch, to launch an investigation, calling it a political stunt timed to sway voters before local and regional elections on May 7.
Read More: Mandelson scandal shatters UK PM Starmer's promise of stable government
He ordered lawmakers in his centre-left Labour Party to oppose an investigation, resulting in the overwhelming rejection. Badenoch said it was a sign of Starmer's weakness that he had to use such an order.
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.
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.