Starmer strikes back over Mandelson vetting scandal
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 21 April 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Yesterday evening Sir Keir Starmer defended himself in Parliament, stating ‘the facts are incredible,’ but ‘nobody’ in Number 10 knew that Peter Mandelson failed security vetting. Addressing MPs, the prime minister rejected the suggestion that the government’s desire to appoint Mandelson overrode security concerns. Immediately after, we caught up with the Times’ political editor to ask, who exactly knew what when? And how does this all end?
Mandelson denies any wrongdoing when it comes to his relationship with Epstein.
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Guest: Steven Swinford, political editor, The Times
Host: Rosie Wright
Producers: Sophie McNulty, Olivia Case
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Read more: Keir Starmer ‘put Mandelson job before security’, say Labour MPs
Further listening: Can Keir Starmer survive the scandal over Mandelson and Epstein?
Clips: Sky News, The Guardian, Keir Starmer - X, The Times, BBC
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From The Times and the Sunday Times, this is the story. I'm Rosie Wright. |
| 0:10.6 | Last September, the Prime Minister assured Parliament and the nation that when it came to the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK's |
| 0:22.5 | ambassador to the US, everything was in order. |
| 0:25.9 | Mr Speaker, as she in the House would expect, full due process was followed during this appointment |
| 0:32.5 | as it is with all ambassadors. |
| 0:36.1 | A day later, Madelson was sacked over his connection to the convicted child sex offender |
| 0:41.9 | Jeffrey Epstein. |
| 0:43.6 | But the story coming out of Downing Street didn't alter that much. |
| 0:47.5 | Kirstama stuck by his claims that although he hadn't had the full picture, the proper |
| 0:53.1 | vetting process had been followed. |
| 0:55.0 | Peter Mandelson, before he was appointed, went through a due diligence process. |
| 1:00.0 | It was something he said again and again. |
| 1:02.0 | There was then, I should add, security vetting, carried out independently by the security services, |
| 1:09.0 | which is an intensive exercise that gave him clearance for the role. |
| 1:13.8 | And you have to go through that before you take up the post. |
| 1:16.8 | Now it seems that's not quite the full story. |
| 1:22.0 | Mandelson did go through something called developed vetting, but he failed. |
| 1:27.0 | That I wasn't told that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting when he's appointed |
| 1:33.0 | is staggering. |
| 1:35.5 | That I wasn't told that it failed security vetting when I was telling Parliament that |
| 1:41.3 | due process had been followed is unforgivable. |
| 1:45.1 | The backlash has been swift and brutal. |
... |
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