Keir Starmer's Lord Mandelson scandal proves broken state needs 'real outsiders' not grandees holding PM's ear, says Whitehall whistleblower

Jack Walters
Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:45:15 +0000

Sir Keir Starmer's Lord Mandelson vetting scandal proves the British state does not need any more Westminster skulkers who hold the ear of the Prime Minister, a former diplomat has told GB News.

Ameer Kotecha, who resigned from the Foreign Office following Sir Keir's "craven surrender" of the Chagos Islands, instead called for Whitehall to welcome genuine "outsiders".

The 34-year-old pointed out the Prime Minister and his then-No10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney had been determined to secure Lord Mandelson's appointment as the UK's Ambassador to the US.

Speaking to GB News, Mr Kotecha said: “We need more outsiders to come into Government, people of integrity and calibre, rather than people who have been skulking around Westminster for decades like Lord Mandelson. Besides, he is hardly some sort of Henry Kissinger when it comes to diplomacy.

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"He got the ambassadorship less out of talent than because he’s been in Westminster long enough to have had the ear of those in No10 and was able to convince them to give him the coveted role."

Mr Kotecha, who now serves as CEO of the Centre for Government Reform, also argued the scandal yet again exposes "dysfunction" at the heart of Whitehall.

“What this shows is that the whole system is unfit for purpose,” he said.

“You’ve got a person with all sorts of skeletons in their closet to the extent that they can’t pass vetting, and you’re not even allowed to inform the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary about that.”

Lord Mandelson’s was appointed as UK Ambassador to the US in December 2024.

The New Labour grandee, who was known as the “Prince of Darkness”, failed vetting on January 28, 2025.

The Foreign Office appeared to overrule the UK Security Vetting’s decision just two days later.

Lord Mandelson’s friendship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has caused constant headaches for the Prime Minister.

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Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s former chief of staff, resigned in February due to his professional relationship with Lord Mandelson.

A bombshell dossier on Lord Mandelson’s appointment heaped yet more pressure on Downing Street last month.

However, Sir Keir wielded the axe against the Foreign Office's top mandarin last night.

Sir Olly Robbins, who was appointed as the department's permanent under-secretary just two weeks before the Foreign Office overruled the initial security vetting checks, lost the confidence of the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary.

He recently admitted the Prime Minister was determined to make Lord Mandelson the UK's man in Washington.

Addressing MPs in November, Sir Olly said: “By the time we are describing, it was clear that the Prime Minister wanted to make this appointment himself.

“Therefore, I understand, the FCDO was informed of his decision and acted on it, and, via the Foreign Secretary, sought and obtained the King’s approval for the appointment.

“In this case, as Chris explained, the Prime Minister took advice and formed a view himself, and we then acted on that view.”

Mr Kotecha said the affair had revealed “the total dysfunction of Whitehall and the machine”, warning that ministers were being left in the dark on critical issues.

“Ministers, ultimately, are the ones who need to carry the political risk and ministers, ultimately, are the boss,” he said.

“We can’t have a situation where ministers are being kept in the dark about key matters, including national security - if that is what happened.”

The 34-year-old also suggested Downing Street may have been wilfully incurious about potential problems, despite the recent dossier describing Lord Mandelson’s appointment as carrying “reputational risk”.

“Starmer should not be let off the hook - as one does get the strong impression that he or No10 didn’t want to know about concerns; they were more focused on getting Mandelson into that job,” Mr Kotecha said.

Calling for sweeping reform, Mr Kotecha added: “We need more professional rigour in the machine. There is an amateurism at the moment in the way the government operates.

“It’s hard to imagine that this sort of thing would happen in a private sector company dealing with this sort of classified information.”