Fired former UK official says he felt pressure to approve Mandelson

By JILL LAWLESS LONDON (AP) — The top official behind the decision to approve Peter Mandelson ‘s appointment as British ambassador to Washington said Tuesday that he felt political pressure from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office to rush through the appointment, despite security concerns. Claims by former Foreign Office head Olly Robbins that Starmer’s office had a “dismissive attitude” to security vetting increase the heat on Britain’s leader, who is facing calls to resign over the appointment of the friend of Jeffrey Epstein to one of the U.K.’s most important diplomatic posts. The prime minister fired Robbins last week after…