Overview
- Lawmakers are debating a referral to the Commons Privileges Committee on Tuesday, and Labour has told its MPs to vote against launching the inquiry.
- Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s former chief of staff, told MPs on Tuesday that he made a serious mistake in advising the Mandelson appointment.
- Former Foreign Office head Sir Philip Barton said it was unusual to announce an ambassador before security vetting was finished, underscoring concerns about the process.
- Written evidence from FCDO security lead Ian Collard said he felt pressure for a rapid outcome due to regular No 10 contact, though he said it did not change his team’s judgment, echoing Olly Robbins’s account of constant chasing.
- The dispute turns on whether UK Security Vetting urged denial while the Foreign Office approved clearance with safeguards, a breakdown that led Starmer to sack top mandarin Olly Robbins and to hand sensitive files to Parliament’s security committee as parties invoke the Johnson Partygate precedent before local elections.