No 10 suggests Starmer inadvertently misled Parliament over Mandelson vetting
Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent
Downing Street has effectively said the prime minister inadvertently misled Parliament over Lord Mandelson’s vetting.
Asked repeatedly whether the prime minister misled parliament, his official spokesman said: “The prime minister would never knowingly mislead parliament or the public.
“He’s clear though that this information should have been provided to Parliament, it should have been provided to him, it should have been provided to other government ministers and so he will obviously update the House with the full information later today.
“He’ll be updating Parliament with information that it should have had.”
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Olly Robbins will give evidence to Foreign Affairs Committee
Olly Robbins will give evidence before the Foreign Affairs Committee tomorrow morning, it's been confirmed.
Robbins, who had been the Foreign Office's permanent under-secretary since January 2025, left his post last week.
The top civil servant's departure followed reports by the Guardian that his department did not tell the prime minister that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting, and decided to let him take up the US ambassador role.
The BBC understands Robbins was effectively sacked after Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper lost confidence in him.
Reports by the Financial Times suggest Robbins is contemplating legal action over his dismissal.
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/ce35qnexlv8t
He'll weasel out of trouble again…