Richard Tice urges privileges probe into three senior civil servants over Mandelson vetting

MPs voted 335 to 223 on Tuesday against referring Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the Commons Privileges Committee over the Peter Mandelson vetting row. (yahoo.com) (reuters.com) Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice used the debate to argue that three senior civil servants had given evidence pointing to pressure to speed Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to Washington. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s motion accused Starmer of potentially misleading MPs with claims that “due process” was followed and that “no pressure whatsoever” was applied. (msn.com) (ukfactcheck.com) The key evidence came from Sir Olly Robbins, the former top Foreign Office civil servant, who told MPs there was a “generally dismissive attitude” to Mandelson’s vetting and “constant pressure” from No. 10 in January 2025. He said refusing clearance would have been “very difficult indeed.” (ukfactcheck.com) Tuesday’s Foreign Affairs Committee hearing added more detail rather than a single decisive proof. POLITICO reported that witnesses agreed Starmer wanted Mandelson in post before Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration and that Downing Street pushed repeatedly for faster vetting. (politico.eu) The dispute is about what Starmer knew, when he knew it, and whether his Commons statements matched the record. In a statement on April 20, Starmer said he learned only on April 14, 2026 that UK Security Vetting had recommended on January 28, 2025 that Mandelson be denied developed vetting clearance. (ukfactcheck.com) Downing Street says the appointment followed the rules for direct ministerial appointments and that Starmer was not told the most important fact: that UK Security Vetting had advised against clearance. Cabinet Office officials have said senior civil servants waited for legal checks before informing him. (ukfactcheck.com) (news.sky.com) The paper trail has widened the political problem. Cat Little, the Cabinet Office permanent secretary, told MPs that Foreign Office security staff requested access to Mandelson’s vetting documents on September 15, 2025, days after The Independent revealed he had failed the checks. (independent.co.uk) The government has also been releasing material under a Humble Address passed by the Commons, with ministers telling MPs on April 27 that a second tranche was being prepared while officials sifted a large volume of records. The Cabinet Office said some material could not be published because of personal data, legal privilege, national security and a live Metropolitan Police investigation. (theyworkforyou.com) Starmer survived the vote, but the issue did not end there. Fifteen Labour MPs defied the whip or failed to back the government, showing the Mandelson affair is still cutting across party lines even after the referral was blocked. (labourlist.org) For now, Tice and the Conservatives have lost the push for a privileges probe. The next test is whether further hearings, document releases and any police findings narrow the gap between Starmer’s defense and the civil servants’ account. (theyworkforyou.com) (politico.eu)