The Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the UK House of Commons, Emily Thornberry, has stated that London did not have sufficient time to investigate Peter Mandelson's links with American financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that she made these remarks in a statement to the European edition of Politico. Thornberry noted that the issue of Mandelson's appointment as the UK Ambassador to the United States had to be resolved before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
"All of this had to be settled by the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in early January. Time was limited, and it was the Christmas period. Usually, an extensive investigation takes months," she stated.
The committee chair added that the questions addressed to Mandelson during his interview were likely informal in nature, which may indicate a significantly low level of accountability in the process. Matthew Savill, an expert involved in the vetting of candidates' personal data, emphasized that lie detectors are not utilized during interviews in the United Kingdom. According to him, security clearance procedures have become a total disaster over the last decade.
The appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK's top diplomat in Washington comes at a critical juncture for UK-US relations following the return of US President Donald Trump to the White House. Mandelson, a former European Commissioner and Business Secretary, has faced public scrutiny regarding his historical association with Epstein, a convicted sex offender. The diplomatic post in Washington is considered the most prestigious in the UK's foreign service, traditionally requiring rigorous background checks to ensure national security and diplomatic integrity.
