LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday it was "staggering" that he had not been told that former ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson had failed his security vetting.

Starmer, asked whether he was considering his position, replied that he was furious that he had not been told about the failure.

"That I wasn't told that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting when he was appointed is staggering," Starmer told reporters.

"Not only was I not told, no minister was told, and I'm absolutely furious about that."

He added: "What I intend to do is to go to parliament on Monday to set out all the relevant facts in true transparency so parliament has the full picture."