Overview
- MPs voted 335 to 223 on Tuesday to block a Conservative motion to refer the prime minister to the Privileges Committee, with about 15 Labour MPs breaking ranks to back an investigation.
- The Privileges Committee is a cross‑party body that examines whether MPs misled Parliament, and a referral could have opened a formal inquiry into Sir Keir Starmer’s statements on the Peter Mandelson appointment.
- At a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing earlier the same day, former No 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney apologized for advising the choice of Mandelson and said he never asked officials to skip security checks.
- Former Foreign Office chief Sir Philip Barton told MPs it was unusual to announce the ambassador role before vetting finished and said there was pressure to “get on with” the process, though he was confident formal steps were followed.
- The Intelligence and Security Committee said it has finished reviewing government redaction requests and will press to publish remaining documents after Parliament returns, setting up fresh scrutiny even after Starmer’s win in the Commons.