The claim
“Keir Starmer admitted that appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington was a mistake.”
Starmer's comments after it emerged Mandelson had failed security vetting.
Our verdict
True
Starmer said he should not have appointed Mandelson.
What we found
Starmer has said publicly that appointing Mandelson was a mistake, including after April 2026 reports that Mandelson had failed security vetting. The claim is accurate.
The evidence
- Supports the claim
Starmer has said he should not have appointed Mandelson and that officials did not tell him about the vetting concerns. [1]
How we checked
We checked the claim against RTÉ. We reviewed 1 relevant source.
Sources
- [1]RTÉ · Starmer and the Mandelson vetting row
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