The claim
“UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer admitted that appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington was a mistake.”
Our verdict
True
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has publicly admitted that appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington was a mistake and that he should not have made the appointment, particularly after learning Mandelson failed security checks.
What we found
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has publicly admitted that appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington was a mistake and that he should not have made the appointment, particularly after learning Mandelson failed security checks.
The evidence
3 sources, all background: none settles the claim either way.
- Background
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged Monday that he made the wrong judgment when he picked Jeffrey Epstein’s friend Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to Washington. Starmer stated, 'I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson.'
yahoo.com· Starmer admits mistake in appointing Mandelson - Background
Keir Starmer stated that he would have withdrawn the appointment if he had known Mandelson had failed security checks. He called it 'frankly staggering' that officials did not inform him of the failed vetting.
yahoo.com· Starmer says he would not have appointed Mandelson if he knew - Background
Prime Minister Keir Starmer blamed civil servants for not telling him that Peter Mandelson had been rejected for top security clearances.
nytimes.com· Starmer blames civil servants for not informing him
How we checked
We reviewed 3 relevant sources.
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