PM says ‘deliberate decision’ taken not to inform him of Mandelson’s failed vetting

Keir Starmer has apologised for the appointment of Peter Mandelson, but insisted that a “deliberate decision” was made not to tell him that Mandelson failed security vetting.

Addressing the House of Commons earlier this afternoon, the Prime Minister said it was “incredible” that he and other ministers were not told Mandelson was refused security vetting and said the Foreign Office has since been stripped of its powers to overrule vetting decisions.

He told MPs: “I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson. 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.

“If I had known, before he took up his post, the UK Security Vetting recommendation was that developed vetting should be denied, I would not have gone ahead with the appointment.

“It beggars belief that, throughout this whole timeline of events, that officials in the Foreign Office saw fit to withhold this information from the most senior ministers in our system of government.

“It is surely beyond doubt that the recommendation from UKSV that Peter Mandelson should be denied developed vetting clearance was information that could and should have been shared with me on repeated occasions.”

It emerged last week that vetting officers had advised against the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, but the recommendation was overruled by the Foreign Office.

Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office civil servant sacked last week over the Mandelson saga, will give evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee tomorrow morning.

An emergency debate in the Commons on the vetting scandal is also expected to take place tomorrow.

READ MORE: What Labour members need to hear from our leader today

The Prime Minister faced a barrage of tough questions from his own MPs, alongside calls for his resignation from each of the major opposition parties, with Ed Davey and Kemi Badenoch both making comparisons to Boris Johnson’s ‘Partygate’ scandal.

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said that many are still “bewildered” at the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson in the first place, and said the saga had “damaged the party that I’ve been a member of for 50 years”.

Suspended Labour MP and Mother of the House Diane Abbott questioned why was the Prime Minister not more inquisitive about uncovering the facts when issues in Mandelson’s appointment first emerged.

She said: “It’s one thing to say, as he insists on saying: ‘Nobody told me, nobody told me anything.’ The question is why didn’t the Prime Minister ask?”

Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Emily Thornberry asked the Prime Minister whether, for certain members of his team, getting Mandelson the job as ambassador overrode other priorities, with security treated as “second order”.

In response, Starmer said that a “deliberate decision was taken to withhold that material”.

He said: “This was not a lack of asking. It wasn’t an oversight. It was a decision taken not to share that information on repeated occasions.”

Labour MPs were muted during the debate, with several leaving the chamber before the conclusion of proceedings.

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s statement, several Labour MPs have spoken of an “awful” mood within the Parliamentary Labour Party, with a senior MP telling The i Paper: “No one doubts that we are close to the end.”

Senior government figures echoed this view and told The Guardian that this week could be “make or break” for the Prime Minister’s future.

After backing Anas Sarwar’s call for Keir Starmer to resign, Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon, who is seeking re-election next month, has urged for the Prime Minister to quit immediately. Lennon urged Starmer to put “country before personal ambition” and said: “Keir Starmer has made too many mistakes and misjudgments.”

However, Douglas Alexander told Sky News on the morning broadcast round that he “expects” the Prime Minister to lead Labour into the next general election.

He said: “There are no certainties, but of course I think he will, and I think he should.”

Another MP also told Sky News that the Prime Minister is “consistently underestimated” and said: “I genuinely think he’ll lead us into the next election.”

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