The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has published a report rejecting Sir Keir Starmer's assurance that "due process" was followed when he appointed Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. The MPs conclude that Downing Street "forced" the appointment on the Foreign Office and that the process was "being made up as it went along", dealing a fresh blow to the Prime Minister's judgement and reputation.

The report criticises "appalling" record-keeping by No 10 and the Foreign Office, and says vital security vetting of Mandelson was treated as an "afterthought". It also accuses Starmer of sacking the department's top diplomat, Sir Olly Robbins, over the vetting without knowing the full facts. Committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry called the appointment an "unmitigated disaster" that was painful to Jeffrey Epstein's victims and had diminished Britain internationally. Mandelson was sacked last September over his friendship with the paedophile financier, a day after Starmer had defended the appointment in the Commons.