British lawmakers on Tuesday voted against launching an inquiry into whether Prime Minister Keir Starmer misled Parliament over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S.
Starmer appointed Labour veteran Mandelson to the top diplomatic post in December 2024, before dismissing him last September when his ties to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were found to be deeper than previously known.
The Prime Minister has resisted pressure to resign over the issue, stating that Mandelson had lied about his relationship with Epstein.
Starmer also said officials had withheld information from him about the vetting process that would have prevented the appointment.
On Tuesday, lawmakers voted 335 to 223 against asking the Committee of Privileges to investigate whether Starmer had misled the House of Commons on several matters, including his statement that "full due process" had been followed in relation to the appointment.
Had the committee found that Starmer had deliberately misled Parliament, he would have been expected to resign.
Starmer criticised the attempt to launch an inquiry, led by opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, calling it a political stunt aimed at influencing voters ahead of local and regional elections on 7 May.
He instructed lawmakers in his centre-left Labour Party to oppose the investigation, resulting in its decisive rejection. Badenoch said the move demonstrated Starmer's weakness, arguing that he had been forced to rely on party discipline to block scrutiny.
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