Downing Street has provided explanations in order to clarify Peter Mandelson’s appointment and who approved the former ambassador’s security clearance.
Yet significant gaps remain over how Mandelson failed security vetting, how that failure was handled, and what Sir Keir Starmer knew.
Was this a serious failure or part of normal procedure?
Shorts
At the centre of the row is whether Mandelson’s failed security vetting represents an extraordinary failure or is part of standard practice. Downing Street said it is “staggering” that Mandelson failed vetting and that the Foreign Office overruled the decision and did not inform anyone in No10.
