British lawmakers voted on Tuesday against launching an inquiry into whether Prime Minister Keir Starmer misled ​parliament in statements about his decision to appoint Peter ‌Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.

Starmer picked Labour veteran Mandelson for the top diplomatic posting in December 2024 and ​then sacked him last September when his ties to ​the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were ⁠found to have been deeper than previously known.

The prime ​minister has resisted pressure to quit over the matter, saying Mandelson lied ​about his relationship with Epstein. Starmer also said officials had kept information from him about the vetting process that would have stopped him from making the appointment.

Read: Starmer’s Mandelson woes deepen

On Tuesday, lawmakers voted 335 to 223 against asking ​the Committee of Privileges to investigate whether Starmer had misled the House ‌of ⁠Commons on several matters, including by saying “full due process” had been followed around the appointment.

If the committee had found Starmer deliberately misled parliament, he would have been ​expected to resign.

Starmer ​had criticised ⁠the attempt, led by the opposition Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch, to launch an ​investigation, calling it a political stunt timed to ​sway voters ⁠before local and regional elections on May 7.

Read More: Mandelson scandal shatters UK PM Starmer’s promise of stable government

He ordered lawmakers in his centre-left Labour Party to oppose an investigation, ⁠resulting ​in the overwhelming rejection. Badenoch ​said it was a sign of Starmer’s weakness that he had to ​use such an order.

The committee previously found that former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson had ⁠knowingly misled ​parliament over rule-breaking parties held during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Johnson had already ​stood down as prime minister by the time the report was published, but he resigned from parliament altogether after seeing a draft ​copy of the findings.