Will the Peter Mandelson scandal bring down Keir Starmer?
From In The News by The Irish Times
April 22, 2026 · 26 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the implications of Peter Mandelson's appointment as UK Ambassador and the surrounding scandal for Keir Starmer.
The appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK Ambassador to the United States is a moment Keir Starmer will rue. On Monday, he faced MPs in the UK Parliament to explain what he knew about the vetting process, which it has been revealed Mandelson failed. Starmer says he knew nothing about it and has sacked the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office over what he says was the failure to inform him. Mandelson resigned as Ambassador following revelations about his links to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and allegations he had shared sensitive documents with the billionaire. If he wasn’t told, how could Starmer have failed to check Mandelson’s vetting properly? And as many politicians in Britain are demanding to know, why didn’t he ask? Irish Times London Correspondent Mark Paul explains. Presented by Mark Hennessy. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Mark Hennessy
Guest: Mark Paul
Topics covered
- politics
- scandal
- UK government
- Mandelson
- Starmer
- parliament
Keywords
- Peter Mandelson
- Keir Starmer
- scandal
- UK Parliament
- vetting process
- Jeffrey Epstein
- politics
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Foreign Office, Acast
More episodes of In The News
- Inside court as Jeffrey Donaldson takes the stand · June 12, 2026 · 16 min
- Jennie’s law: One family’s campaign to protect women from domestic abuse · June 11, 2026 · 31 min
- How the Belfast riots unfolded · June 10, 2026 · 21 min
- What a 24-year jail term for Sean McGovern means for his boss, Daniel Kinahan · June 10, 2026 · 25 min
- ‘Irish only or it burns’ - Why Ireland's far right is targeting vacant council houses · June 9, 2026 · 21 min
- What is the 'free birth' movement and why is it becoming more popular in Ireland? · June 8, 2026 · 32 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the In The News podcast page.