Foreign secretary concerned ministers not told of Mandelson vetting fears sooner
Summary
The UK Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, expressed serious worry that government ministers were not informed earlier about security concerns during Lord Mandelson’s vetting for the US ambassador role. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faces questions in Parliament after it emerged Mandelson failed security checks but was still appointed.Key Facts
- Lord Mandelson was appointed UK ambassador to the US despite failing a security vetting process.
- Security vetting is done by a government agency to assess if someone can access sensitive information.
- Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said ministers did not get this vetting information in time.
- Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was only told about the vetting failure in April 2025.
- Sir Olly Robbins, the senior Foreign Office civil servant, was fired over the matter.
- Mandelson started the ambassador job in February 2025 and was removed in September 2025 after more details about his links to Jeffrey Epstein surfaced.
- Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said Starmer would not have approved the appointment if he had known about the vetting failure.
- The Foreign Affairs Committee is set to question Sir Olly Robbins about the case.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
