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Sir Keir Starmer’s ex-chief of staff has admitted he made a “serious error of judgement” and was wrong to back the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, as the PM battles to draw a line under the failed vetting scandal.

Sir Keir faces a crunch moment in his premiership on Tuesday afternoon as MPs vote on whether or not to launch a sleaze inquiry into the saga.

Morgan McSweeney pinned the blame for the row firmly on Lord Mandelson, who he said had not been honest and would not have “come close” to the job if the allegations in the Epstein files had been known at the time.

open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he would not have gone ahead with having Lord Peter Mandelson as his top diplomat to Washington had he known about the vetting (Carl Court/PA) ( PA Wire )

Lord Mandelson is facing a police inquiry over claims he leaked sensitive government documents to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Mr McSweeney, who began his evidence session with MPs investigating the scandal by remembering Epstein’s victims, said it was “like a knife through my soul” when he realised Mandelson’s full links to convicted sex offender, after he became ambassador.

Mr McSweeney, who denied Mandelson was his hero, also said that the Labour grandee was the first to suggest his own name for the Washington job.

He revealed that the former ambassador was inside No 10 on the day of the last reshuffle, although he denied Lord Mandelson’s “ideas” affected the outcome.

And he was forced to deny there was a ‘jobs for the boys’ culture in No 10 after he admitted discussions about a separate ambassador role for Sir Keir’s then spin doctor Matthew Doyle, saying the PM wanted him “to be able to land on his feet” after losing his job.

open image in gallery Former No 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney appearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) ( PA Wire )

He also denied telling the boss of the Foreign Office boss to “just fucking approve” Mandelson.

Earlier in his evidence Philip Barton, the former top civil servant at the Foreign Office, also denied that he had received any such phone call from Mr McSweeney.