An internal security decision to deny Peter Mandelson clearance was reportedly overruled by the Foreign Office to allow his appointment as UK ambassador to the United States, according to an investigation.
Documents and sources cited in the report suggest that Peter Mandelson was initially refused security clearance in late January 2025 following standard vetting procedures conducted by UK security officials, the Guardian reported.
Despite this, then-prime minister Sir Keir Starmer had already announced Mandelson’s appointment as Britain’s chief diplomat in Washington, creating what officials described as a procedural conflict between the security assessment and ministerial intent.
According to the reporting, the Foreign Office subsequently invoked a rarely used mechanism to override the recommendation made by UK Security Vetting (UKSV), a division of the Cabinet Office responsible for assessing the suitability of senior officials for sensitive roles.
The alleged decision has not previously been made public, despite the Government releasing a large volume of documentation intended to clarify the circumstances surrounding the appointment.
The Tory leader Kemi Badenoch slammed Keir Starmer for “misleading” Parliament over Mandelson’s appointment and she demands that he “must take responsibility.”
Badenoch wrote on X: “Last September, Keir Starmer told parliament three times that ‘full due process’ was followed over the appointment of Lord Mandelson.
We now know the prime minister misled the House. The prime minister must take responsibility.”
Further documents are expected to be published, although it has also been reported that senior officials have considered whether to withhold material indicating that Mandelson did not pass security clearance. Any such move could raise questions over compliance with parliamentary expectations regarding disclosure to the Intelligence and Security Committee.
Questions have now been raised about whether the Prime Minister was aware of the initial vetting outcome at the time of the appointment, and whether public statements describing Mandelson as having received clearance accurately reflected the process, the Guardian reported.
Neither the Prime Minister nor the Foreign Office has confirmed who authorised the override, though senior civil servants in post at the time are expected to face scrutiny. Officials named in connection with the period include Sir Olly Robbins, then permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
The report also references concerns about transparency in the appointment process and the handling of sensitive personnel decisions involving senior diplomatic posts.
Mandelson was later dismissed from the role in 2025 following separate controversies, but the emergence of questions around his security vetting is likely to intensify political scrutiny over the original decision-making process and the Government’s handling of classified assessments.
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