British foreign ministry chief to leave after Mandelson vetting row

LONDON – Britain’s top foreign ministry official will leave his post after Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper lost confidence in him, a source said on April 16, following a row over the security vetting of Mr Peter Mandelson.

The disclosure of the vetting failure has intensified pressure on Mr Starmer over his appointment of Mr Mandelson, Britain’s former US ambassador, who is under police investigation for allegedly leaking government documents to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and has led to renewed calls for the Prime Minister to resign.

Mr Mandelson failed his security vetting before taking up the role, but the government said Mr Starmer was unaware officials had overruled the recommendation.

“Neither the Prime Minister, nor any government minister, was aware that Peter Mandelson was granted developed vetting against the advice of UK Security Vetting until earlier this week,” a government spokesperson said in a statement on April 16.

The decision was taken by officials in the foreign ministry, the spokesperson added.

Mr Starmer has apologised for the appointment but defended his own actions, accusing Mr Mandelson of creating a “litany of deceit” about his Epstein ties and promising to release documents on how he was appointed.

A source familiar with the matter said on April 16 that Mr Olly Robbins, the most senior official at the foreign ministry, would leave his post after Mr Starmer and his boss, Ms Cooper, lost confidence in him.

A foreign ministry spokesperson said in a separate statement that Mr Starmer had “initiated a process to establish the facts” of the vetting process, adding that it “was working urgently to comply with that process”.

Mandelson fired in September

The Guardian newspaper had reported earlier on April 16 that the failed security check came after Mr Mandelson’s appointment had been announced. The government has previously pledged to overhaul the vetting process and “address weaknesses” in the system.

The report also said officials were considering whether to withhold publication of the documents that would reveal Mr Mandelson had not been given security clearance.

However, the government spokesperson said that once Mr Starmer had been informed, he had instructed officials to establish why the clearance had been granted and to update Parliament.

Mr Mandelson has not commented publicly on allegations that he leaked documents, and a lawyer for him did not provide a comment on the report.

Mr Mandelson, 72, was fired from the most prestigious posting in Britain’s diplomatic service in September, when the depth of his friendship with Epstein started to become clear.

His relationship with the convicted sex offender, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, is at the centre of a British political scandal that has forced the resignation of two senior government officials.

Opposition parties say Starmer misled Parliament

Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch accused Mr Starmer of misleading Parliament when he said three times in September that “full due process” had been followed.

If Mr Starmer was found to have knowingly misled Parliament, he would have broken the code that governs ministers’ behaviour and would be expected to resign.

Mr Nigel Farage, leader of the populist Reform UK Party which is leading in polls, said: “Keir Starmer said in February that the security services had given Mandelson ‘clearance for the role’. Now we discover that he has blatantly lied, the Prime Minister should resign.”

Mr Mandelson was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office after Mr Starmer’s government passed on communications between the former ambassador and Epstein. Mr Mandelson was later released on bail, pending further investigation.

Mr Starmer faces further scrutiny as Parliament is expected to release more documents related to his vetting.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson was forced to resign in 2022, in part because of months of embarrassing headlines about illicit parties held in government buildings during the Covid-19 pandemic and accusations that he misled Parliament. REUTERS