Politics Keir Starmer

Downing Street leaked that we were about to see ‘angry Starmer’, and the internet was quaking in its boots – 19 funny reactions

Oonagh Keating. Updated April 21st, 2026

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If you aren’t aware of the latest row over the appointment of Peter Mandelson to the position of UK Ambassador to the US, firstly, congratulations – you’ve saved yourself some brain-ache – and secondly, we’re sorry we’re about to ruin it.

Here’s the catch-up.

In December 2024, Keir Starmer appointed the twice-sacked friend of Jeffrey Epstein, Peter Mandelson, to be the UK Ambassador to the US.

In September 2025, Bloomberg published some emails between Epstein and Mandelson, which Starmer claimed revealed that the ambassador had lied in his due dilligence responses, and he was sacked.

On the 14th of April, the Government revealed that Mandelson had actually failed security service vetting, but had been given clearance by the Foreign Office. Keir Starmer insisted that neither he nor senior ministers had been aware of the vetting failure at the time.

On the 17th of April, Olly Robbins, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, confirmed that Starmer and his Cabinet had not been informed that Mandelson had been flagged as unsuitable, but insisted privacy rules prevented him from doing so.

On Monday, Keir Starmer spoke to MPs in the House of Commons, putting his case to explain that he had misled the House when he claimed that Mandelson had been cleared, but that it was accidental.

That’s the broad-stroke picture.

Here’s a snippet of his speech.

Prior to Starmer’s address to the House, a Number 10 source claimed that MPs were going to see ‘angry Starmer’.

And, well, we’re not convinced that a single soul was quaking in their boots. These people certainly weren’t.

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