PM's ex-chief of staff to give evidence on Mandelson vetting

Cat Little, the most senior civil servant at the Cabinet Office, will appear before the Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday.

The article notes that Lord Mandelson was sacked seven months after starting his ambassadorial position, due to his past friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Last week, Cabinet Office civil servant Cat Little told Keir Starmer that the UK Security and Vetting team had raised concerns about Mandelson, but the Foreign Office still granted him security clearance.

Committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry said the Foreign Office's Chief Property and Security Officer Ian Collard and former Foreign Office top civil servant Sir Philip Barton have also been asked to give evidence.

Morgan McSweeney is expected to give evidence to MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee next week about his role in Mandelson's security vetting, including whether he pressed civil servants to speed up the process.

Sir Keir Starmer defended his actions at Prime Minister's Questions, saying that if the Foreign Office had informed him of vetting concerns, Mandelson would not have been committed to the post.

Sir Olly Robbins gave his version of events to the Foreign Affairs Committee, saying he had not seen UKSV documents and that the case was described to him as 'borderline' with potentially manageable risks. He stated civil service guidelines would have prevented him from sharing vetting details with the prime minister, only giving his final decision.

The prime minister effectively sacked former Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Olly Robbins last week, expressing anger that the Foreign Office had not told him that Mandelson failed security vetting.

In February, Morgan McSweeney left his Downing Street role, saying he took 'full responsibility' for advising the prime minister to appoint Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.