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The prime minister’s independent ethics adviser has decided not to pursue an investigation into Sir Keir Starmer regarding his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the United States. Sir Laurie Magnus reviewed the documents related to the appointment and concluded that the appropriate procedures for a political appointee had been followed. In his response issued on Friday, Sir Laurie stated, “I consider that the documentation that has been made public indicates that the relevant process for a political appointee was followed,” expressing no reason to proceed with further inquiry.
The call for an investigation came from Conservative shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Alex Burghart, who raised concerns about a potential violation of the Ministerial Code by the prime minister. Among the documents released earlier this week were warnings presented before Lord Mandelson’s confirmation, highlighting his reported connection to the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as a “reputational risk.” Furthermore, advice was provided to the prime minister indicating that the relationship between Mandelson and Epstein persisted even after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for procuring sex from a minor.
Sir Keir has publicly acknowledged an error in appointing Lord Mandelson to the ambassadorial role and issued an apology to Epstein’s victims. Despite this, the Conservative Party accused the government of concealing parts of the documents, as sections intended for Sir Keir’s comments on the appointment appeared blank, fueling suspicions of redaction. However, it has been clarified that no sections were redacted; instead, the documents were published exactly as returned from the prime minister’s office, reflecting his review.
Pressure also came from the Liberal Democrats, urging Sir Keir to refer himself to the independent adviser to assess whether he violated the code by assuring Parliament that the appointment process had been fully adhered to. Sir Keir maintains that he was unaware of the extent of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein at the time of the December 2024 appointment. Mandelson was subsequently dismissed in September 2025 following the emergence of new information about his connections. In February 2026, Lord Mandelson left the Labour Party and was shortly thereafter arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to allegations that he passed sensitive government information to Epstein during his time as a minister. While still under police investigation, his bail conditions were lifted recently. The BBC has reported that Mandelson denies any criminal wrongdoing and states he was not driven by financial motives
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