Under-fire Keir Starmer vents fury over Peter Mandelson safety vetting fiasco
The Prime Minister labelled it ‘staggering’ and ‘unforgivable’ he had not been informed the Foreign Office had overruled the recommendation from the UK Security Vetting team
Keir Starmer said he was absolutely furious over the security vetting fiasco(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Keir Starmer has said he is “absolutely furious” he was not told Peter Mandelson failed to pass security vetting for the role of ambassador to the US.
The Prime Minister labelled it “staggering” and “unforgivable” he had not been informed the Foreign Office had overruled the recommendation from the UK Security Vetting team. Sir Olly Robbins – the most senior civil servant at the Foreign Office – was sacked by the PM after being told he had lost confidence in the top mandarin on Thursday evening.
Facing reporters on Friday for the first time since it emerged Lord Mandelson was made US ambassador despite failing his security vetting, Mr Starmer vented his fury.
The PM, who was in Paris for a summit on the Iran crisis, said: “That I wasn’t told that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting when he was appointed is staggering. That I wasn’t told that he had failed security vetting when I was telling Parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable. Not only was I not told, no minister was told, and I’m absolutely furious about that.”
Mr Starmer added he will deliver a statement to the Commons on Monday “to set out all the relevant facts in true transparency so Parliament has the full picture.”
READ MORE: Mandelson scandal LIVE: Furious Keir Starmer blasts ‘unforgivable’ failings after shock vetting revelationREAD MORE: Donald Trump lashes out as UK-French Strait of Hormuz mission announced
But on Friday political rivals including Tory chief Kemi Badenoch circled and called on the PM to resign over the latest Lord Mandelson revelations. Liberal Democrat leader said a Commons committee of MPs should investigate whether Mr Starmer misled Parliament over the scandal.
Sir Ed said: “We need to get to the bottom of exactly what Keir Starmer knew when, and whether he intentionally misled Parliament over this appalling scandal. The public deserves the truth, not another cover up. If it turns out that Starmer was aware at the time that Mandelson’s security vetting was overruled, that would represent a major abuse of power and a betrayal of the national interest.
“Boris Johnson eventually resigned after misleading Parliament. If Starmer has done the same, he must be held to the same standard.”
The Prime Minister has said he would “set out all of the relevant facts” to MPs to offer “full transparency and full accountability”.
Pressed on whether he had misled Parliament over the vetting, a No10 spokesman said on Friday: “He’s very clear that Parliament had a right to know this, and indeed that he had a right to know this, and that it’s completely staggering that UK Security Vetting recommended against the developed vetting security clearance for Peter Mandelson and that he was not told, the Foreign Secretary was not told and as a result Parliament was not told.”
The scandal over the New Labour veteran’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to Washington – despite his ties to the billionaire predator Jeffrey Epstein – has destabilised Mr Starmer’s premiership in recent months.
On Friday, the PM’s right-hand-man attempted to label the row a failure of the state. Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, said it was “astonishing” the Foreign Office had been able to overrule the vetting decision in the Lord Mandelson case.
But he insisted the PM would not resign over the latest row that has once again called into question his judgement over the appointment of Lord Mandelson. Asked if Mr Starmer had considered resigning, Mr Jones told BBC Breakfast: “No.”
He added: “The Prime Minister was right when he told the House that due process had been followed, because it had, but the fact that that process did not require officials to tell the Foreign Secretary or the Prime Minister that they ignored the advice of security and vetting officials is totally unacceptable.”
It came as Dame Emily Thornberry, the senior Labour MP who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, asked the recently sacked Sir Olly to give evidence next week. She told the ex-Foreign Office permanent secretary in a letter: “I am writing to request you attend the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday 21 April to give evidence on the vetting process for former Ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson.”
She added: “Conscious that as a committed public servant you would not willingly mislead the House, your attendance at the Committee next week would allow the opportunity to correct the record.”
Former director of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre Ciaran Martin, an ally of Sir Olly, said ministers would not normally be told about vetting concerns. Attacking his friend’s sacking, Mr Martin told the BBC: “I don’t understand the basis of the dismissal, based on my knowledge of the vetting system and how it’s supposed to work.
“As far as I can tell, from what little we know, there is no abuse of process. There’s no failure of process there. Not only is there no duty to disclose the details of a vetting case, there is a duty not to disclose them.”
And he went on: “The one thing you do not do is go to the Prime Minister’s Office and start telling the details of probably the most personally intrusive process there is in the country.”
