File photo: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaking during a press conference at Downing Street in London. (AP)

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday dodged a parliamentary inquiry into the choice of Jeffrey Epstein’s friend Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to Washington, but failed to answer questions about whether he had changed the rules to make the controversial appointment.On Tuesday, MPs voted 335 to 223 against asking the privileges committee to investigate whether Starmer had misled the House of Commons on a number of matters, including saying “full due process” was followed during the appointment. If the committee had found that Starmer had deliberately misled Parliament, he would have been expected to resign.Starmer had criticized the effort to launch the investigation, led by opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, as a political stunt to influence voters ahead of local and regional elections on May 7. He ordered MPs from his centre-left Labor Party to oppose an investigation, which resulted in overwhelming rejection. Badenoch said it was a sign of Starmer’s weakness that he had to use such an order.The fallout from Mandelson’s appointment has left Starmer fighting for his job and for his civil service. Starmer is angry that she was not told that Mandelson failed security checks, while officials say they felt pressure from Starmer’s office to quickly confirm the appointment at the start of President Trump’s second term.Starmer’s former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, acknowledged on Tuesday that he had made a “serious mistake” by recommending Mandelson, but denied pressuring officials to ignore security concerns. McSweeney told MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons that “the Prime Minister relied on my advice, and I got it wrong.” He apologized to Epstein’s victims, saying, “I am sorry for any role this controversy may have played in causing further hurt or distress.“Starmer fired Mandelson in September after new details emerged about the ambassador’s friendship with Epstein.McSweeney resigned in February, saying he wanted to take responsibility for the ambassadorial appointment. McSweeney said he thinks Mandelson’s experience as a former EU trade commissioner will help broker a trade deal with the Trump administration. “I don’t think the prime minister would have chosen Mandelson if Kamala Harris had been elected president,” McSweeney said.