Starmer made ‘really bad pick’ in Peter Mandelson

The US president weighed in on the scandal over Sir Keir Starmer’s appointment
Donald Trump has weighed in on the Peter Mandelson scandal , accusing Sir Keir Starmer of making a “really bad pick” in appointing him as ambassador to the US.

The US president said he agreed with Sir Keir that he had “exercised wrong judgment” when he chose the Labour peer to be Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

Mr Trump appeared to show some support for Sir Keir after he faced MPs on Monday to apologise for the appointment and joked there was “plenty of time to recover”.

“Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom acknowledged that he “exercised wrong judgement” when he chose his Ambassador to Washington,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“I agree, he was a really bad pick.

Plenty of time to recover, however!

President DJT.”
The prime minister is facing another bruising day in parliament over the scandal, as he faces calls to resign after it emerged Mandelson was granted clearance by the Foreign Office despite UK Security Vetting (UKSV) advising against doing so .

Mr Trump previously denied ever meeting Mandelson at the time he was sacked from his post in September, despite being pictured with him in the Oval Office.

Fresh revelations in the Mandelson case have once again threatened to end Sir Keir’s premiership.

Sacked top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins is in front of MPs on Tuesday, answering questions on the vetting scandal.

Sir Olly was sacked from his post as head of the Foreign Office last week, with the prime minister blaming him for deliberately keeping him in the dark over Lord Mandelson’s failure to pass the security vetting check.

On Monday, the prime minister said he challenged Sir Olly over why he went against the recommendation of UKSV.

“I did ask him and I didn’t accept his explanation,” Sir Keir told the Commons.

“That’s why I sacked him.”
He also told the Commons that he would not have appointed Lord Mandelson if he had known the peer had failed the checks and insisted there was no pressure from No 10 to push through the high-profile appointment.

However, MPs will later subject the prime minister’s latest efforts to lay out the facts of the issue to further scrutiny on Tuesday, as MPs hold an emergency debate on the appointment.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch applied for the emergency Commons debate about the scandal, telling MPs it was “a matter of national security because the prime minister has admitted appointing a known serious security risk to our most sensitive diplomatic post”.

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies