Minister defends Starmer amid Mandelson revelations, saying vetting decision ‘utterly unacceptable’ – UK politics live
Summary
A UK government official criticized the Foreign Office for ignoring security advice when approving Peter Mandelson for a sensitive role and called the decision "utterly unacceptable." The official suspended the power of some departments to overrule security vetting and launched an urgent review of past decisions. Opposition leaders in the UK are demanding accountability from Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the vetting scandal.Key Facts
- Peter Mandelson failed a security vetting process but was still appointed to a senior diplomatic role.
- The UK Foreign Office overruled security advice to approve Mandelson’s appointment.
- Darren Jones, chief secretary to the UK Prime Minister, said this overruling was unacceptable.
- Jones suspended the rights of the Foreign Office and some others to ignore security vetting recommendations.
- An urgent review and audit into vetting processes and previous decisions have been ordered.
- Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Prime Minister Starmer of misleading Parliament about the vetting process.
- Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the Prime Minister should resign over the issue or face action in Parliament.
- The scandal came to light thanks to reporting by The Guardian newspaper.
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