PM's ex-chief of staff says he doesn't recognise claims about his behaviour

Morgan McSweeney has said he does not recognise descriptions in the media about his behaviour while serving as Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff.

Speaking at security conference in Ukraine, McSweeney said he found it "strange reading about a character with the same name as mine sometimes", as he spoke publicly for the first time about his departure from No 10 over Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador.

He expressed regret over his decision to advise Sir Keir to appoint Lord Mandelson, but declined to discuss the issue in detail ahead of giving evidence to MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee next week.

McSweeney is likely to be asked by the committee about whether he put pressure on civil servants to speed up Lord Mandelson's vetting.

In his resignation statement in February, McSweeney said he did not oversee the vetting but wanted to take "full responsibility" for advising the prime minister to appoint the peer.

Lord Mandelson was given security clearance for the role despite concerns being raised by vetting officials.

Former senior Foreign Office civil servant Sir Olly Robbins this week accused No 10 of a "dismissive" attitude towards the process, a claim Downing Street has denied.

Lord Mandelson was sacked by Sir Keir in September last year after new information came to light about the depth of his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

McSweeney, appearing at the Kyiv Security Forum on Thursday, was asked about reports on his behaviour and whether he pressured civil servants into approving Lord Mandelson's vetting.

He replied: "I don't recognise that description of me.

"I'm not going to say too much right now, I'm seeing the MPs next week and I don't want to in any way disrespect their process.

"But I find it strange reading about a character with the same name as mine sometimes, but yeah I don't recognise that character."

Before his resignation, McSweeney became a lightning rod for discontent with Downing Street.

Many Labour MPs demanded he leave as the price for their continuing support for the prime minister.

McSweeney's name was also often linked with the perception that No 10 was a "boys' club" often ignoring Labour MPs.

However, many in the Labour Party saw him as an electoral genius.

He helped mastermind Sir Keir's rise to the top of the party, and then to Downing Street.

Asked further about Lord Mandelson's appointment, McSweeney said he had taken responsibility for the advice he gave and resigned.

He said on Thursday: "But that's all I can take responsibility for – the role that I played.