Revealed: Mandelson vetting warned of ties to senior figures in China, Russia and Israel

UK Security Vetting concluded Peter Mandelson should be denied developed security clearance due to concerns about relationships and potential exploitation. The vetting summary flagged associations with China’s minister of finance, Lan Fo’an, the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, and former Israeli military intelligence general Tamir Hayman. It also noted a very close relationship with a British individual that could be compromising. A separate concern involved a £1m loan Mandelson received to invest in an Israeli startup. The vetting agency also said he appeared naive about risks that historical relationships with other individuals could be exploited. The Foreign Office permanent secretary granted clearance despite the recommendation, and Mandelson was later sacked.

"Peter Mandelson's associations with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel were among the concerns raised by the UK's vetting agency when it concluded he should be denied clearance, multiple sources have told the Guardian. Mandelson's links to China's minister of finance, Lan Fo'an, the sanctions-hit Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and a former Israeli military intelligence general, Tamir Hayman, were all flagged by the agency as areas of concern shortly before he took up his post as the UK's ambassador to the US, the sources said."

"They added that United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) also noted Mandelson had a very close relationship with a fourth individual, who is British, that could be compromising. Another concern identified by the vetting agency, the sources said, was a 1m loan Mandelson received to invest in an Israeli startup. And UKSV noted separately, the sources added, that he appeared naive about the risk that historical relationships with other individuals could be exploited."

"These concerns were all contained in a nine-page UKSV summary of Mandelson's vetting file in January 2025, according to the sources, all of whom spoke to the Guardian on condition of anonymity. They said the concerns contributed to the agency's conclusion that Mandelson posed a high overall concern and its recommendation to the Foreign Office that his developed vetting clearance should be denied. After being briefed on the contents of the UKSV summary file, the then Foreign Office permanent secretary, Olly Robbins, granted Mandelson security clearance anyway."

Read at www.theguardian.com