Lord Simon McDonald, the former head of the Foreign Office, has described the Peter Mandelson security vetting scandal as the biggest crisis for the diplomatic service in decades. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said Sir Olly Robbins, the former permanent secretary, was 'basically thrown under the bus' by Number 10.
McDonald claimed that the government needed a 'scalp' after The Guardian revealed that Mandelson had been appointed as US ambassador despite failing his vetting process. 'Within the news cycle Olly Robbins had been required to resign,' he said, adding that there was 'no process, no fairness, no giving him the chance to set out his case'.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney has joined four other major party leaders in calling for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down over the scandal. Swinney lambasted Starmer's 'incompetence' as 'staggering' and 'startling'. The leaders of the Conservatives, Reform UK, Liberal Democrats and Greens have also called for Starmer's resignation.
Meanwhile, Swinney rejected criticism from former SNP MP Joanna Cherry over the implementation of a Scottish Supreme Court ruling on sex and gender. Cherry labelled Swinney a 'coward' for failing to properly enforce the ruling, which stated that for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, sex is based on birth sex. Swinney said he was 'satisfied' his government had taken the necessary steps.
In other news, Green Party MP Hannah Spencer accused Labour of 'offensively caricaturing' working-class people by claiming they would oppose a ban on greyhound racing in England. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the government had 'absolutely no plans' to ban the sport, despite similar bans in Wales and Scotland.
