Another civil servant throws Starmer under the bus: Officials didn't think Mandelson needed to be vetted and pushed Foreign Office to wave appointment through, says mandarin
- Posted on April 28, 2026
- By Daily Mail
- 1 Views
- 1 min read
In brief
A senior Foreign Office official revealed that the Cabinet Office initially opposed conducting enhanced security vetting on Lord Mandelson's appointment, arguing his peer status qualified him as a 'fit and proper person.' Philip Barton's testimony exposes internal government disagreement over whether the prominent Labour figure required standard security procedures before taking office, highlighting potential gaps in governmental accountability mechanisms during the appointment process.
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Another civil servant throws Starmer under the bus: Officials didn't think Mandelson needed to be vetted and pushed Foreign Office to wave appointment through, says mandarin
Philip Barton told MPs that the Cabinet Office initially argued as a peer the New Labour architect was a 'fit and proper person' and did not need to go through 'developed vetting'.
