00:00British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to address Parliament later as pressure mounts over the appointment of Peter Mendelsohn
00:08as ambassador to the United States.
00:11The opposition has called for Starmer's resignation after reports that officials had advised against Mendelsohn's appointment but were overruled by
00:21the Foreign Office.
00:2372-year-old Mendelsohn formally took up the role in February but was sacked just seven months later after revelations
00:30about the extent of his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
00:34The UK government later confirmed Mendelsohn had failed security vetting before his appointment.
00:40Starmer has said it was unforgivable that he was not informed of the vetting failure until last week while assuring
00:46Parliament that due process had been followed.
00:48This scandal has also led to the dismissal of his senior Foreign Ministry official, Ollie Robbins.
00:55The controversy comes just weeks before local elections where Labour expected to face major losses as pressure builds on Starmer's
01:03leadership.
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