"Fleur Anderson, the MP for Putney, asked what can now be seen as a crucial question about the process: In general, what is the end product of all that vetting? Does it all get put into one report? Who receives that report?"
"The report is received by the employing department and employing line manager in this case, that would be Sir Oliver, Wormald responded, looking to his left towards Robbins."
"Robbins sought to interject with an answer to quite a different question. May I cut in, Chris? Robbins said, before informing the committee that it was not normally the case that decisions would be made at his level."
"The Guardian's revelation that Robbins had cleared Mandelson's appointment despite him failing his security vetting has electrified the question of who knew what and when."
On November 3, 2025, Sir Chris Wormald and Sir Olly Robbins faced scrutiny regarding Peter Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador after his removal due to Jeffrey Epstein's emails. The foreign affairs select committee questioned the vetting process, particularly the final report's recipients and its implications for security clearance. Wormald indicated that the employing department receives the report, which informs decisions on security clearance. Robbins attempted to redirect the conversation, leading to uncertainty about Wormald's knowledge of the security services' findings. The situation intensified after revelations about Robbins approving Mandelson's appointment despite security vetting failures.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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