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Officials deliberately withheld Mandelson vetting result from me, Starmer says

Starmer has accused officials in the Foreign Office of deliberately and repeatedly withholding the fact

UK’s Starmer under fire over report Mandelson failed security vetting

Foreign Office officials had proceeded to use “a rarely used authority to override the recommendation from security officials”, the newspaper said. Starmer has apologised for the appointment but insisted due process was followed, accusing

Starmer sees off Tory calls for inquiry into Mandelson role after No 10 flexes muscle

officials would have given Peter Mandelson clearance against the vetting agency’s recommendation let alone without checking with the prime minister himself. However, he insisted that those accusations had been “disproved” by [the testimony

Partygate v Mandelson: Keir Starmer faces attack from his own playbook

Foreign Office](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8338644581f50987e1ab9f331746aae52c411cd6/0_0_5976_3992/master/5976.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) Boris Johnson was accused of misleading parliament, the accusation now being thrown at Keir Starmer. Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian Starmer’s problems stem from his decision in late

No 10 had 'dismissive attitude' to Mandelson vetting, says sacked Foreign Office chief

accused Downing Street of taking a "dismissive approach" to vetting during Lord Mandelson's appointment as the UK's ambassador to the US. Sir Olly was sacked as Foreign Office boss last week after

Starmer accuses Robbins of obstructing truth about Mandelson vetting

accused Olly Robbins of deliberately and repeatedly obstructing the truth about the Mandelson vetting scandal before a high-jeopardy appearance of the sacked top official before MPs on Tuesday. Six days after the prime minister

How Olly Robbins’ knightly charm glossed over burning questions on Mandelson vetting

accusations against Olly Robbins and reinstate him”. Simon McDonald, who once held Robbins’ job as top civil servant in the Foreign Office, said if [Keir Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer) had only waited to hear

Keir Starmer says it is unforgivable he was not told Mandelson failed vetting

officials initially recommended that Mandelson not be given security clearance for the role, but that they were overruled. It remains unclear who gave the order for the clearance to be granted, though Starmer [sacked Olly

Revealed: Mandelson vetting warned of ties to senior figures in China, Russia and Israel

Foreign Office permanent secretary, Olly Robbins, granted Mandelson security clearance anyway. ![Mandelson gestures as he stands behind a seated Donald Trump in the Oval Office, as a smiling JD Vance stands at the opposite side

‘Self-serving stuff’: anger remains high in Whitehall over Olly Robbins sacking

Foreign Office civil servant. “It’s just total self-serving, narrow, selfish, political endgame stuff,” said one supporter of Robbins, who was dismissed for failing to tell the prime minister that the now disgraced former

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

Starmer will not face a parliamentary investigation over claims he misled MPs about the process to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador. The House of Commons voted 335 to 223 against a Conservative-led motion

Senior official ousted over Mandelson security row to face MPs

Office official ousted after it emerged Peter Mandelson was granted a security clearance despite concerns raised during the vetting process is expected to face questions from MPs on Tuesday. Sir Olly Robbins will be grilled

Sacked Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins to face MPs’ questions over Mandelson vetting – UK politics live

accused of pressuring the Foreign Office into approving the appointment of Lord Mandelson despite being aware of his friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his business links to Russia and China”. And here

Three key statements Starmer made to MPs about Mandelson vetting

Starmer should be investigated in Parliament for allegedly misleading the House of Commons. It relates to several comments he made about the process of appointing Lord Mandelson as the UK's ambassador

Foreign secretary concerned ministers not told of Mandelson vetting fears sooner

Starmer is facing calls to resign from opposition parties and is due to answer questions on the scandal in Parliament on Monday. The Foreign Office's top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins, who was sacked

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

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

No way to raise Mandelson concerns, former senior official says

official Sir Philip Barton has told MPs there was no way for him to raise his concerns about Lord Mandelson's appointment as the UK's ambassador to the US. Sir Philip said

Ministers have no authority to withhold Mandelson vetting file, committee says

accused ministers failing to comply with parliament’s will. In February, parliament passed a motion known as a humble address requiring the government to publicly release all papers relevant to Mandelson’s appointment. The government

Ministers speak out in cabinet meeting over Starmer’s sacking of Olly Robbins

officials recommended he be denied security clearance has sent shock waves through the government and once more called the prime minister’s future into question. Starmer has said he regrets appointing Mandelson, whom he sacked

No, Minister: the week Keir Starmer had his own Sir Humphrey moment

Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer), had his own Sir Humphrey moment – potentially an existential one. Olly Robbins, [fired by the prime minister](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/16/foreign-offices-top-civil-servant-olly-robbins-leaves-post-in-mandelson-vetting-row) as the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary after not informing