Prime Minister's Questions, the weekly hearings, take place every Wednesday. This week they took place the day after Olly Robbins, a former senior official at the British Foreign Office, accused Downing Street of adopting a "dismissive attitude" and "constant pressure" regarding the appointment of the country's former ambassador Peter Mandelson.
Peter Mandelson was nominated for the position in Washington on December 20, 2024 - despite knowledge of his connections to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson was sacked on 11 September 2025 after email correspondence with Epstein was made public. The opposition demanded Keir Starmer's resignation even then, and since then questions about Starmer's handling have only increased.
In early March this year, internal government documents were made public, and on 16 April it was revealed that Peter Mandelson was appointed despite the Foreign Office knowing that he had failed the internal security check. Prime Minister Starmer claims that the concerns about Mandelson did not reach him.
Critical voices within Starmer's own Labour Party have been raised, but a change of leadership now would be very inappropriate - in three weeks, elections will be held for the regional parliaments in Wales and Scotland, as well as local elections across England.
