Starmer: 'Staggering that I was not told of Mandelson vetting failure'
Sir Keir Starmer is facing MPs in the House of Commons over his handling of the Mandelson appointment
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told MPs it was “staggering” that he was not told Lord Peter Mandelson had failed vetting checks and it was “information that this House should have had a long time ago”.
As Sir Keir’s position comes under intense pressure over his handling of Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US, the prime minister admitted to MPs in the House of Commons he should not have approved him for the job.
He said: "At the heart of this, there was also a judgement that I made that was wrong.
"I take responsibility for that decision, and I apologise again to the victims of the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who were clearly failed by my decision."
Sir Keir told MPs there was “deliberate decision” taken on “repeated occasions” not to tell him about Lord Peter Mandelson’s failure to pass security vetting.
The prime minister said UK Security Vetting’s recommendation regarding Lord Peter Mandelson “could and should have been shared with me,” adding that had he known there was a recommendation clearance should be denied “I would not have gone ahead with the appointment.”
Sir Keir announced he has updated the terms of a probe into Government security vetting in light of the latest revelations about Lord Peter Mandelson, and has appointed Sir Adrian Fulford, a senior judge and chair of the Southport Inquiry, to lead the review.
He said he did not accept that Foreign Office officials could not have informed him of UK Security Vetting’s recommendations to deny Lord Peter Mandelson clearance.
Sir Keir told the Commons: “I accept that the sensitive personal information provided by an individual being vetted must be protected from disclosure. If that were not the case, the integrity of the whole process would be compromised.
“What I do not accept is that the appointing minister cannot be told of the recommendation by UKSV.
“Indeed, given the seriousness of these issues and the significance of the appointment, I simply do not accept that Foreign Office officials could not have informed me of UKSV’s recommendations, whilst also maintaining the necessary confidentiality that vetting requires.
“There is no law that stops civil servants sensibly flagging UKSV recommendations while protecting detailed, sensitive vetting information to allow ministers to make judgments on appointments or explaining matters to Parliament.”
Sir Chris Wormald, the former cabinet secretary, was not told about UK Security Vetting’s (UKSV) recommendation when he made his review of the appointment process for Lord Peter Mandelson to become the ambassador to the US, Sir Keir said.
The Prime Minister said Sir Chris should have been told, and it was “astonishing” he was not.
Sir Keir said: “Last week the then cabinet secretary was clear, that when he carried out his review the Foreign Office did not tell him about the UKSV recommendation that developed vetting clearance should be denied to Peter Mandelson. I find that astonishing.
“I do not accept that I could not have been told about the recommendation before Peter Mandelson took up his post.
“I absolutely do not accept that the then-cabinet secretary, an official not a politician, when carrying out his review, could not have been told that UKSV recommended that Peter Mandelson should be denied developed vetting clearance. It was a vital part of the process that I had asked him to review. Clearly he could have been told, and he should have been told.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the Prime Minister of breaching the ministerial code by waiting nearly a week to come to the Commons with information about Lord Peter Mandelson failing his security vetting.
Ms Badenoch said: “His reputation is at stake. Everyone is watching. It is finally time for the truth.”
Arguing that Sir Keir Starmer inadvertently misled the House, she said: “I will remind him that, under the ministerial code, he has a duty to correct the record at the earliest opportunity.
“The Prime Minister says he only found out on Tuesday that Peter Mandelson failed the security vetting. The earliest opportunity to correct the record was Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, almost a week ago. This is a breach of the ministerial code.”
Responding, Sir Keir said: “When I found out what had happened on Tuesday evening last, I wanted to have answers to the question: who made the decision to recommend to give clearance on developed vetting, contrary to the advice, why that was done and who knew about it, so I could provide the information to the House.
“That is the exercise that’s been conducted since Tuesday evening and today, so that I could come here today to give the full account to the House, which I’ve just set out.”
Ms Badenoch said the Government’s story on the process of Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment has become “murkier and more contradictory”.
She said: “We still do not know exactly why Peter Mandelson failed that vetting.
“We do not know what risks our country was exposed to, and we do not know how it is possible that the Prime Minister said repeatedly that this was a failure of vetting, went on television and said things that were blatantly incorrect, and not a single adviser or a single official told him that what he was saying wasn’t true.
“At every turn with every explanation, the Government’s story has become murkier and more contradictory. It is time for the truth.”
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