Cabinet Office officials delayed telling Starmer about Mandelson vetting recommendation for almost three weeks – UK politics live

Permanent secretary Cat Little tells MPs that she sought legal advice before sharing the vetting information with the prime minister

Little said she saw the UKSV report on Mandelson on 25 March.

She said she dicussed it with the cabinet secretary, Antonia Romeo, shortly afterwards. But they did not tell the PM until 14 April.

Asked why it took so long to inform him, she replied:

I immediately sought legal … advice, because this is such an unusual thing for a government official to do, to handle that sort of security information.