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  "path": "/2026/04/27/sir-keir-starmer-face-sleaze-vote-peter-mandelson-appointment-28136852/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-27T13:30:54.000Z",
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  "textContent": "Pressure continues to mount on Keir Starmer over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US (Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images)\n\nMPs will get to vote tomorrow on whether Sir Keir Starmer should face an investigation into allegations he misled MPs over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.\n\nIf the vote passes, the Prime Minister will face yet another massive headache as Parliament’s privileges committee scrutinises his words in the Commons.\n\nTory leader Kemi Badenoch has argued Starmer misled the House of Commons by claiming ‘due process’ was followed in the appointment.\n\nShe has also leapt on the PM’s claim last week that ‘no pressure whatsoever’ was applied to Foreign Office civil servants to hurriedly give Mandelson the green light.\n\nStarmer has insisted due process was followed when he announced the appointment before vetting took place, saying he was backed up by the UK’s former top civil servant Sir Chris Wormald.\n\nAnd he has argued No 10 was simply asking for progress updates when Foreign Office officials were pressed on whether they had approved the move – and that their recommendation was made independently anyway.\n\n##  Want to understand more about how politics affects your life?\n\nMetro's senior politics reporter Craig Munro breaks down all the chaos into easy to follow insight, in **Metro** 's politics newsletter Alright, Gov? Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here.\n\nHowever, Sir Olly Robbins told the Foreign Affairs Committee last week that ‘constant pressure’ was applied in the period ahead of approval.\n\nIn a statement posted on social media, Badenoch said: ‘The Prime Minister misled the House of Commons repeatedly.\n\n‘He appointed a national security risk and friend of a convicted paedophile to be our ambassador in Washington, our most sensitive diplomatic post.\n\n‘He pretended that “full due process” was followed for this appointment. It was not. He has blamed the appointment on officials when the blame can only be placed at his own door.’\n\nTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo\n\nUp Next\n\nPrevious Page\n\nNext Page\n\nKnowingly misleading the House of Commons is considered a resignation matter for government ministers.\n\nBoris Johnson’s political career was ended when the privileges committee found he had lied in his statements to MPs about Partygate.\n\nHe had already stepped down as an MP when the report was published, but the committee said it would have recommended a suspension from the Commons.\n\nTomorrow’s vote adds a new wrinkle to a Tuesday that was already looking very difficult for the Prime Minister.\n\nThe Foreign Affairs Committee will hear from Sir Phillip Barton, who was the top official at the Foreign Office when Mandelson was picked, and from Starmer’s ex-chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.\n\n**Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.** **Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.**\n\n**For more stories like this, check our**  news page**.**\n\n**Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates.** **You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.**\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Sir Keir Starmer to face sleaze vote over Peter Mandelson appointment"
}