Robbins says officials considered withholding Mandelson vetting files from parliament
Summary
Senior UK government official Olly Robbins confirmed that top officials debated whether to withhold secret documents about Peter Mandelson’s vetting from parliament. This debate came after a motion required the government to release all papers related to Mandelson’s appointment, except those damaging to national security.Key Facts
- Olly Robbins was the Foreign Office’s top civil servant and was recently dismissed by Keir Starmer.
- Officials discussed whether to share sensitive vetting files about Peter Mandelson with parliament.
- The vetting files showed that the vetting agency did not recommend Mandelson for clearance.
- A parliamentary motion from February demanded the release of all documents related to Mandelson’s appointment.
- The motion allowed withholding some papers only if releasing them could harm national security or international relations.
- Robbins described the vetting file as very sensitive and important to UK security.
- The intelligence and security committee (ISC) is responsible for reviewing these vetting documents.
- Some politicians criticized attempts to block the sharing of these vetting papers, saying it interferes with parliament’s work.
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