Keir Starmer appointed Peter Mandelson as US ambassador without waiting for him to be vetted by the security services, MPs were told yesterday.
Amid growing government tensions over the issue, a blame game erupted as Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper pointed the finger at Downing Street for the disastrous appointment.
In a terse letter to Parliament, she revealed the Foreign Office was not even asked if the disgraced peer was a fit and proper person to serve as ambassador before the Prime Minister handed him the vital diplomatic job last December.
The extraordinary development raised fresh questions about the PM's judgment, who has frequently boasted about his 'forensic' approach. Last night, it left him struggling to break free from the scandal as Donald Trump arrived in the UK for his second State visit.
And opposition MPs suggested Sir Keir misled Parliament last week when he claimed Lord Mandelson's appointment had been subject to 'full due process' as he defended him just hours before concluding he should be sacked over his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
