Starmer-Mandelson latest: Farage accuses PM of using ousted civil servant as ‘sacrificial lamb’ in vetting row

How come unwise political appointments come in all shapes and sizes? In this In the Room clip, filmed last month, former deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara and former No 10 adviser Cleo Watson discuss the (not always perfect) process behind the review.

The Green Party leader stated that today would not be possible without Keir Starmer’s resignation.

Zach Polanksi said: “Any other outcome would be a ridiculous scenario in which the Labor Government and everyone in it would laugh at us.

“Ethics and morality are an important question. The fact that all this is a distraction is just as vital and urgent.”

“We have sky-high bills and an energy crisis; we need to stop ripping Britain apart. All the attention needs to be on a Government capable of doing the basics.”

The Independent’s political journalist Athena Stavrou reports:

Nigel Farage accused the prime minister of using a senior civil servant as a “sacrificial lamb” in a bid to save his own position.

The Foreign Office’s top official, Sir Olly Robbins, has been effectively sacked after it emerged that officials had taken the rare step of overriding the UK Security Review’s recommendation to acquit Lord Peter Mandelson.

But the Reform UK leader claimed there was “no way” Sir Olly could single-handedly override security service advice and described himself as “one of the most professional civil servants in this country”.

Mr Farage told LBC: “They’re all over the place on this, it’s absolutely incredible and Robbins, he’s the sacrificial lamb trying to save the prime minister and that’s not good enough.”

He called for a “full investigation” into the matter, adding that the government’s explanation was: “It is not credible, it is not credible in any way. I have absolutely no doubt that this prime minister misled the House of Commons and lied to the country outside the House of Commons.”

Kemi Badenoch said everyone involved in the Mandelson scandal was now out of Starmer and called on Starmer to resign.

In a post on social media, the Conservative Party leader wrote: “Keir Starmer has now fired everyone involved in Mandelson’s appointment – ​​Chris Wormald, Morgan McSweeney, Olly Robbins.

“But in the end, Starmer was the one who approved it. He has no one left to sack. It’s time to take responsibility. He must go.”

The Independent’s political journalist Athena Stavrou reports:

Kemi Badenoch accused the prime minister of repeatedly lying about his decision to appoint Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

Sir Keir Starmer’s story “doesn’t add up”, the Conservative Party leader said, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of “taking us for fools”.

He argued that it was “completely unreasonable” that the prime minister was not told that Lord Mandelson’s leave had not been notified by the security service.

“It doesn’t matter what story the Prime Minister tells, whether it’s the cover-up story or the original story, there is deliberate fraud at some point,” he told LBC.

“It can’t all be true. That’s why I know you’re lying.”

Nigel Farage said the Foreign Office’s top civil servant, Olly Robbins, was the “sacrificial lamb who tried to save the Prime Minister”.

He told LBC: “None of this makes sense – the idea that they weren’t told about the review.

“Remember, in the House of Commons Starmer said the inquiry had told him about the ongoing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, while he made a speech outside the House in Hastings in which he said he exonerated Mandelson’s security investigation.

“They’re all over the place on this, it’s absolutely incredible and Robbins, he’s the sacrificial lamb trying to save the Prime Minister and that’s not good enough.”

Darren Jones says Keir Starmer was right to say Peter Mandelson had completed vetting procedures when he had been asked about it before.

“The Prime Minister was right… because the security and vetting process had been carried out and the Foreign Office had granted what is called enhanced review status to allow Peter Mandelson to be appointed, meaning he had gone through that process and had been cleared by the Foreign Office to assume office, so the Prime Minister was right about that,” he told the BBC.

“What the Prime Minister was not told until Tuesday evening this week was that the Foreign Office’s decision to grant this enhanced review status and appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador was against the advice of security and review officials.”

The Independent’s political journalist Athena Stavrou reports:

S.ir Keir Starmer is “furious” after discovering the Foreign Office overrode his security advice on the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

The prime minister’s principal secretary, Darren Jones, denied the prime minister misled parliament about his former Labor counterpart’s security clearance, but said he was “furious at the state” over the process.

Mr Jones said Sir Keir had discovered that the Foreign Office had ignored security advice not to appoint Lord Mandelson to the post in Washington.

“It is completely unacceptable, not only in terms of respect for the individual case of Peter Mandelson and the prime minister’s anger at the Foreign Office for not teaching him this information, but also that the processes were in place to allow this to happen,” he told Sky News.

“That is why, in my role in the Cabinet Office, last night I immediately suspended the rights of these organizations to make these decisions.

“I have called for an urgent review of what decisions these organizations have made in the past to override the recommendations of the UK safeguards investigation, and I was already going to announce a wider, independent review of the review process. And that will now be part of that.”