Summary
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has called for an investigation into Prime Minister Keir Starmer for possibly misleading parliament about Peter Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to Washington. Security officials reportedly recommended denying Mandelson security clearance, but this was overruled, raising questions about what Starmer knew and when.
Key Facts
- Ed Davey wants a Commons committee to investigate if Starmer misled parliament about Mandelson’s vetting.
- Security officials advised against granting Mandelson security clearance, but the decision was overruled.
- Starmer fired Olly Robbins, a senior civil servant at the Foreign Office, amid the controversy.
- The prime minister’s chief secretary, Darren Jones, called this a “failing of the state.”
- Downing Street said Starmer only learned of the vetting failure recently and launched an investigation.
- Opposition politicians accused Starmer of lying and called for his resignation.
- A parliamentary committee is looking into whether officials misled MPs about Mandelson’s vetting.
- Starmer is scheduled to explain the situation to parliament soon.
