MPs will debate the Government's accountability over the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador in an emergency debate on Tuesday. The debate follows Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's admission that he was not informed about Mandelson's failure to pass security vetting checks before taking the role.
Sir Keir has blamed former top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins for deliberately withholding the information. He told the Commons he would not have appointed Mandelson had he known about the failed checks, and insisted there was no pressure from No 10 to push through the appointment. Sir Olly was sacked from his role as the Foreign Office's top official after the Prime Minister learned that Mandelson had been granted security clearance despite failing the checks.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch applied for the emergency debate under standing order 24, calling it “a matter of national security because the Prime Minister has admitted appointing a known serious security risk to our most sensitive diplomatic post”. She raised concerns about Mandelson's ties to a convicted paedophile and alleged links to the Kremlin and China, which she said the Prime Minister knew about before the appointment.
During Monday's questioning, Sir Keir denied misleading Parliament, stating: “I accept that information that I should have had, and information that the House should have had should have been before the House, but I did not mislead the House.” He said Sir Olly claimed he was not allowed to provide the information, a claim No 10 disputes. The Prime Minister added: “I did ask him and I didn’t accept his explanation. That’s why I sacked him.”
The application was passed unopposed, with Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle granting a three-hour debate at the start of public business on Tuesday. It is not yet clear who will respond on behalf of the Government. Labour chairwoman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Dame Emily Thornberry, questioned whether “getting Peter Mandelson the job was a priority that overrode everything else”. Sir Keir denied this, calling it “unforgivable” that the full information was withheld.
