Overview
- The government, which confirmed Friday that the Foreign Office overruled a clear “no” from UK Security Vetting, let Peter Mandelson serve as US ambassador despite failing the UK’s top “developed vetting” check required for access to Top Secret material.
- Sir Olly Robbins, the most senior civil servant at the Foreign Office, resigned after Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper lost confidence in him.
- Speaking in Paris, Starmer said he had not been told of the failed vetting and called the lack of disclosure “unforgivable,” with a full statement to MPs due Monday, April 20.
- Opposition leaders including Kemi Badenoch, Ed Davey, Nigel Farage and Green and SNP figures demanded Starmer resign for misleading Parliament about the appointment process.
- Mandelson was nominated in December 2024, took up the post on February 10, 2025, and was removed about seven months later after reports on his links to Jeffrey Epstein.