Yvette Cooper said on Tuesday that she is “troubled” that senior ministers, including Sir Keir Starmer and former foreign secretary David Lammy, were not informed of an “issue” relating to the vetting of Lord Peter Mandelson.
Her intervention adds further pressure on Downing Street amid escalating questions over how concerns raised during the due diligence process were communicated within government before the ambassadorial appointment was confirmed.
Regarding the handling of the process, Cooper indicated that she had not been made aware of potential problems flagged during vetting, suggesting a breakdown in the flow of information between officials and senior ministers.
She said she found it “troubling” that such concerns were not escalated to key decision-makers at the time, particularly given the appointment’s seniority and diplomatic sensitivity.
Cooper said: “Yesterday, the prime minister updated the House on the fact that UK Security Vetting recommended against granting vetting of Peter Mandelson and that FCDO took the decision instead to grant vetting.
“The prime minister, the former foreign secretary and I should have been told that there was an issue, and I am very troubled that we were not.
“The result is that Parliament was not given all the information it should have been and, as I informed the select committee over the weekend, I have commissioned a review of all of the information provided, and I will write to the chair further on this shortly.”
Cooper was asked why Sir Olly Robinson was fired, she said: “There is a responsibility on ministers to provide accurate information to the House and to ensure that we get the information from officials as well.
“I do think that ministers should have been told, including the former foreign secretary and the prime minister, about this particular issue about the outcome of the UKSV conclusions and their recommendation.
“I do think that was relevant, certainly to the information that should have been provided to the House in September.”
The remarks are likely to intensify scrutiny of internal government processes, with competing accounts emerging over who knew what, and when, during the approval of Lord Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the United States.
Downing Street has previously insisted that proper procedures were followed and that ministers were kept appropriately informed, rejecting suggestions of systemic failure in the vetting process.
The latest comments from the Foreign Secretary, however, are expected to fuel further political pressure as MPs continue to examine the handling of the appointment and the communication of due diligence findings across government.
Leave a Comment