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Key Starmer adviser held 16 undisclosed meetings with top US tech bosses

minister was [expanded this year to include the remit of US trade envoy](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/varun-chandra-appointed-as-pms-special-envoy-to-the-united-states-on-trade-and-investment), in which he offers advice on trade negotiations, including AI investment. ![Chandra sat at table with senior figures including

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

advice of vetting officials not to grant Mandelson clearance. One senior cabinet minister is understood to believe that the top official should not have been sacked, but should have been suspended instead until

Starmer was kept in dark about Mandelson’s vetting by two top civil servants

minister said on Friday that it was [“unforgivable” and “staggering”](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/17/keir-starmer-peter-mandelson-unforgivable-not-told-failed-vetting) that senior officials did not tell him that Mandelson failed a security vetting process weeks before he took up his role

Key takeaways from senior official on Mandelson vetting

Starmer told the House of Commons three times that "full due process" was followed during the peer's appointment. The prime minister says that at the time, he was unaware that the Foreign Office

Stop plotting to oust Keir Starmer, ex-deputy Labour leader urges MPs

senior party figures have told the Guardian that activists were being repeatedly told that the prime minister was the problem, rather than the party. “They don’t hate Labour, they hate Keir, as unfair

Ministers urged to share Mandelson vetting files with intelligence committee

Ministers are under growing pressure to share the documents from Peter Mandelson’s vetting process with the parliamentary committee tasked with deciding if they should be made public. In February, MPs passed a binding parliamentary

Foreign Office was asked to find role for senior Starmer aide, says Olly Robbins

Starmer’s then communications chief, Matthew Doyle, the department’s former lead civil servant revealed on Tuesday. Testifying to MPs at parliament’s foreign affairs select committee, Olly Robbins said he had had several conversations

Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s former chief of staff, to be questioned by MPs

senior No 10 adviser’s position had grown increasingly untenable as pressure on Starmer mounted over the scandal, which followed the release of emails underlining the extent of Mandelson’s relationship with the convicted child

Britain should seek to rejoin EU, says civil servant who led Brexit department

Starmer to push harder on trying to join a customs union or the single market, which are still red lines for the government as it seeks a stronger post-Brexit relationship with

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

minister to “retract his 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

Iran foreign minister: strait of Hormuz now ‘completely open’ to commercial vessels

Starmer, the UK’s prime minister, said any proposal to reopen the strait needed to be “lasting and workable”. Trump, however, said that he had rebuffed an offer from Nato to help and told them

Olly Robbins and Mandelson’s vetting: what did he do, why – and who knew?

senior judgment, and potentially a discussion about managing and mitigating risks”. The committee never did discover what Wormald knew. He was [removed from his job](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/12/chris-wormald-steps-down-cabinet-secretary-starmer) as the country’s highest civil servant

Badenoch accuses PM of misleading MPs over Mandelson vetting

Starmer said three times that "full due process" was followed for the appointment. In response to the Guardian report, Badenoch pointed to his comments last September, adding: "We now know the prime minister misled

Starmer accuses Robbins of obstructing truth about Mandelson vetting

advice. Starmer told MPs that the vetting information had now been handed to the trusted Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), who are expected to assess it before returning it to the government within days

Pressure on Starmer amid Mandelson revelations as Foreign Office official forced out – UK politics live

advice when appointing people to sensitive roles. He told Sky News: > double quotation markIt is utterly unacceptable, not just in the individual case of Peter Mandelson and respect of the Prime Minister’s fury

Starmer faces Commons showdown over Mandelson vetting scandal

senior government figures are concerned that this week could be make or break for the prime minister – despite him being bolstered by his handling of the Iran crisis – if more damaging information should emerge

What is Developed Vetting security clearance at centre of Mandelson row?

advice on Mandelson was taken by Foreign Office officials, with neither the prime minister or foreign secretary made aware at the time. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper previously said the vetting process is "independent of ministers

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

Chris Mason: Mandelson nightmare haunts Starmer again, as senior figure effectively sacked

Starmer, stuck on repeat. The whole saga has now cost another person their job – Sir Olly Robbins, the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office. And there are some, both on the opposition benches

PM admits No 10 asked about job for aide Matthew Doyle

Starmer has confirmed conversations took place about a potential diplomatic role for his senior aide Matthew Doyle. The ex-communications chief was made a Labour peer after leaving Downing Street in March