Starmer admits mistake in appointing Mandelson as UK ambassador but resists calls to resign

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged Monday that he made the wrong judgment when he picked Jeffrey Epstein ’s friend Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to Washington, batting away a barrage of calls to resign over a scandal that has left his leadership teetering.

Starmer said he would have withdrawn the appointment if he’d known Mandelson had failed security checks, as he tried to explain why Mandelson was given the U.K.’s most important diplomatic post. Starmer...