Mandelson failed security vetting. Starmer says he didn’t know

ronib

Why not wait until Monday to hear what Olly Robbins has to say?
Clutching at straws otherwise?

Fair enough.

Why not wait until Monday to hear what Olly Robbins has to say?
Clutching at straws otherwise?

Luckygirl3

*Starmer has been useless.* In what way?
With Starmer unfit for office ..... In what way?

These blanket statements are simply tribal rankings.

Many gransnetters are not paid up Labour supporters but can stand back and see that we finally have someone at the helm who is able to hold his own internationally, stand up for UK interests and approach his role in a thoughtful way. He does not get everything right (who does?) but he is a breath of fresh air after the absence of gravitas and respect for democracy of what went before .... notably Johnson and Truss.

Absolutely. I am what is called a floating voter, I suppose. I for one am very glad KS is in place with the world as it is now.

Elegran
The worrying thing is that you have to ask those questions, without having an answer, when there is so much concern about the current PM/ministers.

Nope sorry not going to change my morality because there are difficult times internationally, that kind of thinking is what gave mandelsson the position in the first place.

What a lot of comments from people who seem unable to focus their eyes beyond the shores of this country and what happens within it!

Internal differences of view over "did he know/didn't he know" and fossilised opinions of the character of Prime Minister Starmer are small beer in the light of international conflicts and the wiles of the countries standing on the sidelines waiting to take advantage. We may be an island, but we are surrounded by sharks. RAF fighter jets were scrambled on Tuesday over fears a suspected long-range Russian bomber was nearing British airspace. Two Typhoons were deployed from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland and were accompanied by a Voyager refuelling plane from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. A long-range Russian bomber was sniffing round the North Sea, probably checking out their best route past Britain toward the Atlantic and a free run to the US, but possibly testing UK defences. Please point out someone else in Westminster who is:-

a) Trusted by all Cabinet Ministers, MPs, and Civil Servants to talk and negotiate on behalf of the UK with the leaders and representatives of the US, EU country leaders, China, Russia, or any other Tom Dick or Harry.

b) Able to do this with a firm grasp of the legal principles, national and international, on which those talks and negotiations are based, and known to the heads of other countries to have that knowledge.

c) NOT looking for political advancement or party advantage. Those who most covet power are not necessarily those best suited to having it. They are in fact the last people who should be given it.

It might be they are answers you don't like twaddle. The problem for her is the legacy of the tory government of which she was part, I caught her talking about defense funding the other day and I agreed with a lot of what she was saying but obviously defence funding for the majority of the last two decades was the responsibility of a tory government, so the current situation is mostly their responsibility.

Primrose would you mind letting me know on which TV channel / programme you heard about Thornbury etc?

I really would like to observe this with my own eyes & ears.

Thanks!

twaddle

Smileless2012

What I don't understand is how Mandelson could have fulfilled his role without security clearance .

I'm unclear too.

It's not clear whether he was denied top level clearance or whether he was given it, despite the failed vetting.

When he was Foreign Secretary, it was rumoured that Theresa May denied Boris Johnson access to some top secret intelligence reports, although this is disputed and I doubt the truth will ever be known.

He was denied clearance but the foreign office over rode it.
Somewhere in the small print it appears they have the power to do this.
It’s like a real life Yes Minister.
I want to know who vets the vetters 🤦🏼‍♀️

LizzieDrip. Indeed.

What Thornberry tweeted on Friday was this:

My committee asked several times whether red flags had been raised by Peter Mandelson's vetting process. It seems there were. Who overrode these concerns? Why were we kept in the dark? People need to stop messing us about and tell us the truth.

GB News quote her as saying:

Looking at the evidence that was given and the letters that have been written, to be charitable, there are glaring holes. It really is a question of whether we were knowingly misled.

If people were to watch the November proceedings, which I linked to upthread, they will see/hear Robbins and Wormald being circumspect and sometimes evasive in their answers.

We don't even know why Mandelson failed security vetting.

We should find out more on Tuesday. I think we all just want to hear the truth. Meantime it's all just speculation, going round and round in circles with a huge great dollop of political bias thrown in.

Thornberry's letter to Robbins requesting he give further evidence to the FAC.

committees.parliament.uk/publications/52666/documents/293112/default/

Note the paragraph:

Conscious that as a committed public servant you would not willingly mislead the House, your attendance at the Committee next week would allow the opportunity for you to correct the record.

I'm still curious about why Simon Case wasn't called.

Galaxy

Badenoch is good on subjects she is well informed on, she is excellent on single sex spaces issue, I think she needs more time but I am not one of those who thinks Starmer is 'the grown up in the room' anymore. I am afraid I think that gravitas etc is frequently mistaken for being genuine, skilled, etc, the same mistake happened with the perception of Sturgeon.

There's more to life than single sex spaces. Badenoch is good at attacking, but never has any answers.

I read somewhere that ambassadorial appointments are for the Foreign Secretary to become involved with and not the PM. So why was Starmer pushing for Mandelson?

sixandahalf

I think this is a gift on a silver platter for the far right.

It plays into the "they are all the same" rhetoric.

It seems to me your last sentence is correct!

So many people in the Labour party have been involved in dodgy or unprofessional dealings since they came to power just a short time ago.

Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner, Bridget Phillipson, Sue Gray, Andrew Gwynne, Lord Alli, Louise Haigh, Tulip Siddiq, Morgan McSweeney, Peter Mandelsson, Rushana Ali. There may even be more.

I’m not far anything, other than right on this one. 😉

DaisyAnneReturns

twaddle

I agree with your first paragraph, eazybee. There was enough information in the public domain for anybody to realise that Mandelson should never have been put forward for the role.

However, I almost choked on my coffee when I read the last sentence. Badenoch can't even unite her own party never mind those from any other party. She wouldn't even know what words like "negotiate" or "agreement" mean. She doesn't come up with solutions to anything.

There was enough information in the public domain for anybody to realise that Mandelson should never have been put forward for the role.

That really isn't how it works.

I know how it works, but in Mandelson's case, Starmer should have had more sense. I know all the theories about why he was chosen (ideal for dealing with Trump), but I thought it was a very suspect decision at the time and I'm afraid the gamble backfired.

As for whether Starmer knew that the advanced vetting was failed, my gut feeling is still that he didn't know.

My thought exactly Graphite.

I’m sure Primrose53 will let us know where she heard this. I’d like to hear what the TV programme are alleging and where they’ve got their evidence from.

twaddle

I agree with your first paragraph, eazybee. There was enough information in the public domain for anybody to realise that Mandelson should never have been put forward for the role.

However, I almost choked on my coffee when I read the last sentence. Badenoch can't even unite her own party never mind those from any other party. She wouldn't even know what words like "negotiate" or "agreement" mean. She doesn't come up with solutions to anything.

There was enough information in the public domain for anybody to realise that Mandelson should never have been put forward for the role.

That really isn't how it works.

Primrose53

I just heard on TV that Emily Thornberry who cannot bear KS is getting together with Sir Olly to gather all their ammo against him.

Which channel might that be?

Thornberry is chair of the ten cross-party member Foreign Affairs Committee in front of which Robbins has been called to appear on Tuesday so if there were a shred of truth in what you are alleging, she would have to stand down or could be removed.

I share the need for absolute clarity on who knew what when
It was a high risk appointment. I was angry as it went against the safety for women and girls strategy

Primrose53

I just heard on TV that Emily Thornberry who cannot bear KS is getting together with Sir Olly to gather all their ammo against him.

Which TV Chanel / programme did you hear this on? I’d like to listen to that myself.

Another word of support. I’m a Labour Party member. I support Starmer

Primrose53

I just heard on TV that Emily Thornberry who cannot bear KS is getting together with Sir Olly to gather all their ammo against him.

Still knitting.🧶

Primrose53

I just heard on TV that Emily Thornberry who cannot bear KS is getting together with Sir Olly to gather all their ammo against him.

Well they would wouldn't they!

Primrose53

I just heard on TV that Emily Thornberry who cannot bear KS is getting together with Sir Olly to gather all their ammo against him.

Rubs hands with glee.

Badenoch is good on subjects she is well informed on, she is excellent on single sex spaces issue, I think she needs more time but I am not one of those who thinks Starmer is 'the grown up in the room' anymore. I am afraid I think that gravitas etc is frequently mistaken for being genuine, skilled, etc, the same mistake happened with the perception of Sturgeon.

I just heard on TV that Emily Thornberry who cannot bear KS is getting together with Sir Olly to gather all their ammo against him.