India, April 17 -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under the scanner once again, this time for "not being aware" that his former ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, had failed security vetting before being handed the job.

The disclosure of the vetting failure has intensified pressure on Starmer over his appointment of Mandelson, with the opposition now seeking his resignation.

Starmer, however, sought to contain the fallout by expressing anger on Friday at not having been informed about Mandelson's vetting status.

Starmer, who is in France for talks on the Iran crisis, told reporters it was unforgivable that he had not been informed about Mandelson having failed security vetting "when I was telling Parliament that ...