Sir Keir Starmer will face a Commons showdown on Monday as he sets out further details of what he called an 'unforgivable' error by officials in not informing him that Peter Mandelson had failed his security vetting. The Prime Minister will address allegations that he misled Parliament after previously stating that proper process had been followed in appointing Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US.
Starmer effectively dismissed the Foreign Office's top official, Sir Olly Robbins, last week after it emerged that Mandelson had been granted developed vetting (DV) status despite failing checks by the UK Security Vetting (UKSV) agency. Sir Olly is due to give his own account to the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
The scandal has intensified calls for Starmer's resignation, both from opposition parties and critics within Labour who fear poor electoral results in May's local elections and devolved contests. Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander told Sky News he expected Starmer to survive until the next general election, but added that 'there are no certainties' in politics.
The Prime Minister's defence will be that officials failed to inform him or then foreign secretary David Lammy about the vetting issue. A No 10 statement on Sunday night said that while civil servants make decisions on vetting, nothing in the law prevented ministers from being told. 'There is nothing in the guidance which prevented information being shared,' the statement said.
Starmer told the Mirror he would make it 'crystal clear' to MPs that he had been kept in the dark. 'The fact that I wasn't told that Peter Mandelson had failed his security vetting when he was appointed is astonishing,' he said. 'The fact that I wasn't told when I said to Parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable.'
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Starmer of being 'either lying or incompetent'. Starmer is expected to apologise to MPs and insist that the information should have been provided to him and Parliament much earlier.
