Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has launched a blistering attack on the Foreign Office, accusing officials of deliberately concealing critical security warnings about Lord Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the United States.
In a tense parliamentary session, Starmer revealed that security officials had recommended against granting Mandelson security clearance in January 2025 due to undisclosed concerns. Despite this warning, the Foreign Office authorized the clearance, allowing Mandelson to take up the Washington post the following month. The peer was dismissed seven months later over his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"The repeated failure to divulge the result of Lord Mandelson's vetting process was incredible, staggering, and astonishing," Starmer told MPs, his frustration palpable. He went further, alleging there had been a "deliberate decision" to withhold this information not only from him but also from parliamentary investigators examining Mandelson's dismissal last year.
The prime minister placed particular blame on Sir Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office's former top civil servant who was effectively sacked last week. While acknowledging that sensitive details from vetting interviews should remain confidential, Starmer insisted Robbins should have shared the overall recommendation.
"He took the view this process did not allow him to disclose to me the recommendation," Starmer said, adding pointedly, "He should have provided this information to me."
Robbins is scheduled to present his version of events before a Commons committee on Tuesday, setting the stage for a potentially explosive confrontation.
Starmer also forcefully denied accusations that he misled Parliament last year when he claimed "full due process" had been followed in Mandelson's appointment—a serious charge given ministerial rules against knowingly misleading the House.
"I did not mislead the House," he stated unequivocally, though he conceded that MPs, like himself, should have received more complete information.
In response to the escalating controversy, the prime minister has ordered a security review of "any security concerns raised" during Mandelson's tenure. The peer had access to the highest classification of secret material while serving in Washington. This investigation, to be conducted by the Cabinet Office's Government Security Group, runs parallel to a broader examination of the national security vetting system led by retired judge Sir Adrian Fulford.
The scandal has exposed significant tensions between political leadership and civil service protocols, raising urgent questions about transparency and accountability in high-level diplomatic appointments.