Collard briefed Robbins: Mandelson borderline
- Ian Collard, the Foreign Office security chief, will not appear before MPs on Tuesday after the Foreign Affairs Committee sought his evidence in the Peter Mandelson vetting dispute. - Reports of Sir Olly Robbins’ testimony say Collard told him Mandelson was a “borderline case” and that UK Security Vetting had leaned toward refusing clearance. - The clash now centers on who knew UK Security Vetting’s position before Mandelson was cleared and sent to Washington. (independent.co.uk)
Ian Collard will not appear in person before the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday in the row over Peter Mandelson’s security vetting. Dame Emily Thornberry said the Foreign Office told MPs he would answer in writing instead. (independent.co.uk) (aol.com) Collard matters because Sir Olly Robbins told MPs that he was the official who briefed him on UK Security Vetting’s advice during Mandelson’s appointment process. Robbins gave that evidence to the committee on April 21. (committees.parliament.uk) (politico.eu) According to reports of that hearing, Robbins said Collard described Mandelson as a “borderline case” and conveyed that UK Security Vetting had leaned toward recommending clearance be denied. That account has become one of the committee’s main lines of inquiry. (independent.co.uk) (msn.com) The issue is not only whether Mandelson was eventually cleared. MPs are trying to establish what Robbins was told, whether Downing Street knew the strength of UK Security Vetting’s concerns, and why the appointment still went ahead. (aol.com) (politico.eu) That matters because Robbins was forced out after the government said he had not made clear to Keir Starmer that Mandelson was approved against UK Security Vetting’s recommendation. Starmer has defended that decision and said Robbins faced only the “everyday pressure of Government.” (aol.com) (independent.co.uk) Robbins has described a very different atmosphere. He told MPs there was “constant pressure” and “constant chasing” from No 10 while the checks were being completed, and said the process was rushed. (theguardian.com) (efe.com) Press reports on the committee’s questioning say MPs referred to two UK Security Vetting “red boxes” on Mandelson’s form, indicating “high concern” and a recommendation that clearance be denied or withdrawn. Those details sharpened the dispute over whether ministers and senior officials were fully informed. (independent.co.uk) (aol.com) Thornberry has also called other senior figures, including Morgan McSweeney and Cabinet Office permanent secretary Cat Little, as the committee traces how the decision moved through Whitehall. Collard’s written answers are now likely to be read for any direct account of what he told Robbins. (stratford-herald.com) (independent.co.uk)
