LONDON — Prime Minister Keir Starmer survived a House of Commons vote on April 27, 2026, on a motion to refer him to the parliamentary privileges committee over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States. Members of Parliament voted 335 to 223 to reject the motion, which was tabled by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.

Opposition parties including the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party and Reform supported the motion. Some Labour MPs, including Angela Rayner, abstained.

Badenoch said Starmer had misled the House of Commons repeatedly when he claimed that full due process was followed over Mandelson's appointment. "They are being whipped today to exonerate him before the facts have even been tested," she said.

Earlier in the day, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee questioned Morgan McSweeney, Starmer's former chief of staff, before the full House debated the Conservative demand for the Privileges Committee to investigate Starmer's explanations of the appointment. McSweeney resigned in February, saying he took responsibility for appointing Mandelson as ambassador. He was expected to be asked about allegations by Olly Robbins that Starmer's staff pressured officials to rush Mandelson's confirmation so he could begin his post at the start of Donald Trump's second term in January 2025.

Robbins was dismissed by the prime minister earlier in April 2026 over his failure to inform Starmer that Mandelson had failed security vetting. Robbins also told the committee he was not consulted on the political decision to appoint Mandelson.

Sir Philip Barton, the former Foreign Office permanent secretary, told the foreign affairs select committee that there was pressure from Number 10 to get Mandelson's vetting done as quickly as possible. He said the normal order for ambassadorial appointments is to complete vetting before making an announcement. Barton said he was presented with Mandelson's appointment and told to get on with it without space for dialogue. Barton also said he was unaware of Number 10's intention to appoint Mandelson until a day before the announcement.

Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, said accusations that officials in the Foreign Office had approved Mandelson against vetting advice had been disproved by Robbins' testimony. Jones made the remarks following the committee session on April 27.

Starmer fired Mandelson in September after new details emerged about Mandelson's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Police opened an investigation into Mandelson in February over allegations he passed on sensitive government information to Epstein in 2009.