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. 

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