Ministers have no authority to withhold Mandelson vetting file, committee says

"The intelligence and security committee (ISC) has criticised the government over its handling of the release of Mandelson-related papers and in effect accused ministers failing to comply with parliament's will. In February, parliament passed a motion known as a humble address requiring the government to publicly release all papers relevant to Mandelson's appointment. The government has repeatedly said it will comply with the motion, which ordered that any documents that could be prejudicial to national security or international relations should first be reviewed by the ISC."

"The group of senior MPs and peers have been reviewing the files to decide which, if any, should be redacted or withheld from public release. In a statement on Friday, the ISC said it has completed its work but that it had not been provided all the relevant documents. The committee has been told that certain documents are being withheld from the process, the statement said."

"It said the prime example of documents being withheld was a vetting file held by UK Security Vetting (UKSV), the agency that in January 2025 recommended Mandelson's security clearance should be denied. The following day, the Foreign Office's then permanent secretary, Olly Robbins, granted Mandelson his developed vetting status anyway, paving the way for him to take up his post in Washington the following month."

"Robbins, who has since been sacked by Keir Starmer, has said officials were under pressure from Downing Street to get Mandelson to Washington, but said the pressure did not influence his decision to grant him clearance. Robbins has said he granted clearance without viewing the vetting file, relying instead on an oral briefing from an official who had not seen it"

A parliamentary intelligence and security committee criticized the government for handling papers connected to Peter Mandelson’s US ambassador appointment. Parliament passed a humble address motion requiring public release of all relevant documents, with any potentially prejudicial material reviewed by the committee. Senior MPs and peers reviewed files to determine what should be redacted or withheld. The committee said it finished its work but was not given all relevant documents, including a vetting file held by UK Security Vetting. UKSV had recommended denying Mandelson security clearance in January 2025. The Foreign Office’s then permanent secretary granted developed vetting status anyway, enabling Mandelson to take up the post, while later stating he relied on an oral briefing without viewing the vetting file.

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