From Newsgroup: talk.politics.misc
Sir Keir Starmer has said it's "staggering" that he, as prime minister,
was not told about Lord Peter Mandelson failing to pass initial security vetting checks.
The prime minister is facing calls to resign over the revelation that
vetting officers recommended against Lord Mandelson's being appointed as
US ambassador, but that recommendation was overruled by the Foreign
Office.
Sir Olly Robbins, who was two weeks into the job heading up the Foreign
Office at the time, was effectively sacked by Sir Keir on Thursday night.
Opposition parties are calling for Sir Keir to resign, with Tory leader
Kemi Badenoch saying the explanation so far is "completely preposterous"
and "all roads lead to resignation".
At a press conference in Westminster, she said Sir Keir "cannot hope" to continue leading the country due to his "incompetence," accusing him of
being "so blinded by his own righteousness that he cannot see what
everybody else can see".
The Tory leader said she was "considering every parliamentary option" for removing the prime minister but called on Labour MPs to "do the right
thing" and get rid of him.
"I do not have enough Conservatives MPs to win a vote of no confidence,"
she said.
"The people who can do that, who can make this happen are Labour MPs."
BBC News understands that Sir Olly is expected to appear before
Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday to answer questions
about Lord Mandelson's vetting.
Sir Olly has not yet formally accepted the committee's invitation, but
friends of his said he was preparing to appear.
They also cast doubt on whether Sir Olly ever actually saw the
recommendation to the Foreign Office not to approve Lord Mandelson's
vetting, saying it was unlikely he was given the full report and may only
have seen more specific risks thrown up during the process.
Lord Mandelson was announced as the UK's ambassador to the US in December 2024, before in-depth vetting had been carried out.
He formally took up the role in February 2025, and was sacked seven months later over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On Thursday, a Guardian investigation revealed Mandelson had been
appointed despite failing initial vetting.
Later on Thursday evening, the government said no minister had been
informed of that decision at the time, and the PM had only discovered it
this week.
Speaking to journalists in Paris on Friday, Sir Keir said: "That I wasn't
told that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting when he was
appointed is staggering.
"That I wasn't told that he had failed security vetting when I was telling Parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable.
"Not only was I not told, no minister was told, and I'm absolutely furious about that.
"What I intend to do is to go to Parliament on Monday to set out all the relevant facts in true transparency, so Parliament has the full picture."
He added: "Number 10 was not told that he had failed security vetting -
that is completely unacceptable."
Senior minister Darren Jones earlier said Sir Keir had not misled MPs when
he said due process had been followed, and therefore would not be
resigning.
Jones told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, there was no obligation in the
rules for ministers to be told about security vetting decisions when Lord Mandelson was appointed, something he said he had now changed.
BBC News understands the United Kingdom Security Vetting service gave the Foreign Office an explicit recommendation not to approve Lord Mandelson's vetting.
It's understood that UKSV, which carried out the work on behalf of the
Cabinet Office, presented the Foreign Office with a list of potential
risks as well as a recommendation summing up those risks.
That recommendation can fall into one of three categories, described by sources as "yes", "yes with caveats" and "no".
Sources say the recommendation given to the Foreign Office by the vetting services was a "no".
The Foreign Office is believed to be the only government department in Whitehall with the authority to overrule such a recommendation.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17v2452vglo
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