PM admits he made mistake in choice of ambassador as he makes high-stakes statement to parliament over scandal
Keir Starmer has accused Olly Robbins of deliberately and repeatedly obstructing the truth about the Mandelson vetting scandal before a high-jeopardy appearance of the sacked top official before MPs on Tuesday.
Six days after the prime minister said he had learned that his pick for Washington ambassador had failed security vetting, Starmer admitted his decision to appoint him had been a fundamental mistake.
But in a sombre address to parliament, he insisted the Foreign Office was to blame for a “staggering” and “incredible” decision not to brief him, or anybody else in Downing Street, about the vetting advice.
Starmer told MPs that the vetting information had now been handed to the trusted Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), which is expected to assess it before returning it to the government within days for public release.
