Overview
- A Cabinet Office paper seen by Sky News indicates Keir Starmer advanced Peter Mandelson for the Washington post before required security vetting was complete.
- In the House of Commons, Starmer apologized for the handling of the case, denied misleading MPs, and said he had not been told of the security committee’s concerns.
- He dismissed senior civil servant Olly Robbins over the lapse, and Robbins says legal limits stopped him sharing some information as MPs prepare to question him.
- The government has now removed the Foreign Office’s ability to bypass the security vetting body to stop a repeat of such a process failure.
- Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and other opponents are pressing for Starmer’s resignation and weighing a no‑confidence move as Mandelson’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein add to the pressure.