Vetting process for Mandelson needed more awkward questions, expert says

"Peter Ricketts said there had to be more awkward questions asked of a person such as Peter Mandelson than the system allows, given all the baggage of his three decades in politics and business. For that person there must surely be an even more thorough process including detailed interviews with those who have known him/her well in their previous life. That will take time, Lord Ricketts said."

"Other insiders familiar with the appointment process said Mandelson's appointment was streamlined and the reality was that Downing Street wanted Peter to be the answer, with informal concerns brushed off. One government adviser said they had raised the issue of Mandelson's association with the Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska from 2005 but were told that he was considered such a master of the dark arts that it was necessary to appoint him. Minds had already been made up, they said."

"Mandelson's appointment on 20 December 2024 was made subject to developed vetting clearance. It was completed in less than two months. No objections were made by MI5 or MI6, though their involvement in the process run by the Cabinet Office was limited to assessing if there were current issues of national security concern. Mandelson's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein had been well reported by the media."

Downing Street cannot appoint politicians or business figures to senior diplomatic posts using the same security vetting applied to civil servants. Peter Mandelson's appointment as a senior diplomatic figure was processed with developed vetting clearance and completed in under two months. MI5 and MI6 raised no objections, but their role in the Cabinet Office-led process was limited to assessing current national security concerns. Mandelson's well-reported associations with Jeffrey Epstein and earlier links to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska were noted but were not treated as equivalent to terrorism or hostile-state threats. Developed vetting is required for ambassadors, renewed every seven years, and is conducted by United Kingdom Security Vetting.

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