British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has sought to shift responsibility onto Foreign Office officials over the controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the United States.

Axar.az reports, citing Reuters, Starmer told parliament on Monday that officials had withheld critical information regarding Mandelson’s security clearance process, including advice that he should not be granted the required vetting status.

He said he was not informed that UK Security Vetting had advised against clearance being issued.

“It beggars belief that throughout the whole timeline of events, officials in the Foreign Office saw fit to withhold this information from the most senior ministers in our system in government,” Starmer said.

The prime minister said he would not have approved Mandelson’s appointment had he known about the advice, and added that procedures would now be tightened to prevent departments from overriding vetting recommendations.

The controversy has intensified scrutiny of Starmer’s handling of the appointment, which was later reversed in September after revelations about Mandelson’s ties to convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Further pressure emerged after it was revealed that the Foreign Office had overridden a warning from security officials and granted Mandelson “developed vetting” clearance.

Starmer has previously said all proper procedures were followed, but on Monday reiterated his anger at not being informed of key decisions. His office also stated he “would never knowingly mislead parliament or the public.”