Key Mandelson vetting figure will not appear before MPs; evidence to be provided in writing

The government says UKSV gave an explicit recommendation to the Foreign Office not to approve Mandelson's vetting ahead of his confirmation as ambassador to the US.

Robbins accused No 10 of a 'dismissive' attitude towards the vetting process; Downing Street denied the claim.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir Starmer said that if the Foreign Office had told him about the vetting concerns, Mandelson would not have been committed to post as ambassador to the United States.

The government is examining whether Robbins was given the correct information before approving Mandelson's security clearance.

Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer's former chief of staff, will give evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday; he is likely to face questions about whether he put pressure on civil servants to speed up the vetting.

In a letter to the interim Foreign Office boss, Dame Emily Thornberry set out questions for Collard to answer in writing, including how often his team differed from the UKSV report.

Sir Olly Robbins told MPs that he had never seen the explicit UKSV recommendation and only received a verbal briefing describing UKSV's view as 'borderline' and leaning toward denial.

The Foreign Affairs Committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry said the Foreign Office declined the committee's request for Ian Collard to attend next week; Collard will instead provide evidence in writing.

Sir Olly Robbins was sacked after it emerged he had granted clearance against the UKSV recommendation and had not informed No 10.