"I intend to continue to do the important work for our country," Starmer told a press conference on Thursday.
He apologized to the victims of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein - saying he had believed what later turned out to be lies.
“Didn't know how dark it was”
It concerns top politician Peter Mandelson's relationship with Epstein, which has been revealed gradually. Mandelson - a knighted former minister, deputy prime minister and EU commissioner - was appointed ambassador to the United States in February last year.
Keir Starmer was confronted about this in the House of Commons on Wednesday and admitted that he knew about Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein when he appointed him ambassador, but he said he wanted to emphasize that Mandelson had lied about the extent of the relationship at the time.
"Serious allegations and serious evidence have emerged regarding Mandelson's activities, including his relationship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender. It had been common knowledge for some time that Mandelson knew Epstein, but none of us knew how deep or dark that relationship was," Starmer said, according to British media.
This is information that was not known when he was appointed as ambassador.
Simmering doubts
The House of Commons, with the support of critical Labour votes, was able to override the government on the issue and vote for further transparency around the appointment. A committee will now security-check further material to see if it can be made public.
In the British media, headlines and analysts have described it as a deathblow to Starmer and his mandate as Prime Minister. Anonymous Labour voices have told several media outlets that his days are numbered. Some have responded cautiously to questions about Starmer's future, and some of the party's more than 400 members of the House of Commons have said outright that he should resign.
We only need to read the mood in the country to realise that his position has now become untenable, York MP Rachael Maskell told the BBC.
The opposition Tory Party and the Liberal Democrats are urging Labour to initiate a vote of no confidence against Keir Starmer. The governing party has an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons.
