Mandelson Vetting Fallout: Officials Kept Quiet, PM Fumes

0:00On April 17, Prime Minister Kierstarmer called it unforgivable and staggering that, top officials kept quiet about Peter Mendelssohn failing his. Security vetting before landing the ambassador job in Washington. This mess came to light after the foreign office pushed through clearance anyway, against expert advice, leading to permanent secretary Ali Robbins, getting forced out of his role on Thursday. Earlier this week, it turned out cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo and another senior civil servant, Catherine Little, knew about the vetting failure. Since March, but sat on it for weeks, they were dealing with super sensitive documents from UK security vetting, dated January last year, running checks and debating risks before looping in. The Prime Minister. Starmer only got formally notified a few days ago, even though a dozen officials and lawyers were in the loop. A government source says, little didn't hide the info, but was carefully weighing how to share it without blowing up national security and Romeo backed.

1:00Her approach. New details show officials were split on releasing the full vetting document to Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee. Some worried it was unprecedented and raised cover-up fears, while others pushed for full disclosure to avoid ignoring Parliament's wishes. By midweek, they were floating compromises like sharing unredacted versions with just the committee chair or privy council members, but now the documents are moving through the official release process to clear the air.