Lord Mandelson was not given clearance by security officials, but the Foreign Office overruled the recommendation before he was sent to Washington.
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of misleading MPs over the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, after it was reported that the peer failed his security vetting but was still handed the Washington job.
Security officials initially denied Lord Mandelson clearance, but the Prime Minister had already named him as Britain’s top diplomat in the US, and the Foreign Office took the rare step of overruling the recommendation, according to The Guardian.
Sir Keir has previously insisted due process was followed in the appointment, and that Lord Mandelson had lied about the extent of his links with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The Labour leader has also said the vetting carried out independently by the security services “gave him clearance for the role”.
But the peer was not granted approval following the secretive process by the Cabinet Office’s UK Security Vetting last January, the newspaper reported.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said on X: “Last September, Keir Starmer told Parliament three times that ‘full due process’ was followed over the appointment of Lord Mandelson.
“We now know the Prime Minister misled the House.
“The Prime Minister must take responsibility.”
Lord Mandelson, a political appointment rather than a career diplomat, was sacked from his Washington role last September when more details emerged about his relationship with convicted sex offender Epstein, who died in 2019.
