Sir Keir Starmer will be fighting to save his job in the Commons today with a statement on exactly what he knew about Lord Mandelson’s vetting.
In what Kemi Badenoch has branded a “shaming affair”, the PM will face allegations he misled Parliament after telling MPs the proper process had been followed in appointing the Labour grandee as ambassador to the US.
“Keir Starmer is either grossly incompetent or a liar,” Robert Jenrick said last night, adding his Government was “paralysed by a paedophile scandal”.
The Foreign Office’s top official Sir Olly Robbins was sacked last week after it emerged Lord Mandelson had been given developed vetting (DV) status despite failing security checks.
It also emerged that Sir Keir was told about the the warning signs which made the former peer fail his security checks – then “waved them away”.
And today, the PM will try to explain how Lord Mandelson was able to take up his role without the Foreign Office revealing it had overruled the vetting decision.
One senior Government figure told The Guardian the next few days could be make-or-break for Sir Keir’s career.
“We just don’t know how it will all play out, but all roads lead back to the original sin: Keir’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson to Washington even though everybody knew it was high risk. This week could go either way,” they said.
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY…
On Tuesday… Olly Robbins sets out the counter-argument
Sir Olly Robbins will have a day to reel from the PM’s Commons statement before he answers questions from the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
| PA
Sir Olly Robbins will have a day to reel from the PM’s Commons statement before he answers questions from the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on the Lord Mandelson scandal on Tuesday.
He is currently reported to to be taking legal advice over his sacking as Foreign Office chief.
The Guardian reports Sir Olly feels “angry” at what he believes to be his “unfair treatment” by Sir Keir Starmer – and is determined to put out his side of the story.
RECAP: Keir Starmer ‘WAS told about Lord Mandelson’s red flags – then waved them away’
Sir Keir Starmer was told about the the warning signs which made Lord Mandelson fail his developed vetting security clearance, it has been revealed.
On Monday, the Prime Minister will tell the Commons it was “unforgivable” that he was not told that the Labour grandee had failed the process prior to his appointment as US ambassador.
But it has now been claimed that Sir Keir was already aware of his “red flags” ahead of the security protocol – then went ahead with his appointment anyway.
The UK Security Vetting agency (UKSV) recommended the rejection due to Lord Mandelson’s ties to China and Russia, insiders said.
The Government claimed last week that the Prime Minister would have pulled the appointment if he had been made aware of the rejection.
“The reality is that Starmer had already been warned about the major risks and he had waved them away,” one senior Whitehall source told The Telegraph.
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