PM won't face inquiry over claims he misled MPs on Mandelson vetting

Cardiff West MP Alex Barros-Curtis said he did "not believe the case was made out" for the motion by the Conservatives.

In a sign of the government effort to ensure the motion was rejected, Labour MPs campaigning in Scotland ahead of next week's elections were summoned back to Westminster.

Opening the debate, Badenoch examined Sir Keir's defence of his remarks before noting the Ministerial Code is "very clear" in the need for the record to be corrected at the earliest opportunity.

She said: "It is very obvious that what the prime minister said at the despatch box was not correct. It's clear that full due process was not followed."

Senior cabinet minister Darren Jones accused Badenoch of "ranting incoherence" as he defended Sir Keir's handling of the issue.

Pressed by Badenoch to repeat the PM's assertion that "no pressure existed whatsoever" in the case, Jones said Sir Keir's words should be placed "in the right context".

Jones was heckled by opposition MPs as he said Sir Keir was "specifically responding to the allegation that there was pressure that Peter Mandelson should not be vetted at all and that he should be sent to Washington regardless of the vetting outcome".

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey earlier said the country needed a government focused on dealing with cost-of-living concerns, adding: "Crucially it needs a government that it can trust."

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said Labour MPs "cannot outrun Peter Mandelson, they cannot outrun their own prime minister and his record".

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said Sir Keir "prides himself on process" but anecdotally it "seems that there is a culture that does not exist around him and within him"; while Green MP Ellie Chowns said "it is clear that there is a case to answer here" for the PM.

Lord Mandelson began the Washington ambassadorial role in February 2025 but was sacked in September after Downing Street said new information about the depth of his relationship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had emerged.

Sir Keir has faced repeated questions over the appointment, including on why the peer was given security clearance for the role by the Foreign Office despite concerns being raised by vetting officials.

The Commons debate on Tuesday came after the Foreign Affairs Committee heard further evidence about the vetting process, including from the senior civil servant at the Foreign Office when the PM decided to send Lord Mandelson to the US.

Sir Philip Barton said no-one in Downing Street consulted him before making the decision and also noted he thought the appointment could be a "potentially difficult issue" because of the peer's known links to Esptein.

He said he was "presented with a decision" made by Sir Keir and "told to get on with it".

And Morgan McSweeney, the PM's former chief of staff, told MPs he made "a serious mistake" in recommending the appointment of Lord Mandelson.

McSweeney said that No 10 wanted Lord Mandelson in post "quickly" but insisted officials were never asked to "skip steps".

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