Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting clearance but the decision was overruled by the Foreign Office to ensure he could take up his post as ambassador to the US, an investigation by the Guardian can reveal.<\/p>\n
According to multiple sources, Mandelson was initially denied clearance in late January 2025 after a developed vetting process, a highly confidential background check by security officials.<\/p>\n
Keir Starmer had by then announced<\/a> he would be making Mandelson the UK\u2019s chief diplomat in Washington, posing a dilemma for officials at the Foreign Office, who decided to use a rarely used authority to override the recommendation from security officials.<\/p>\n Mandelson\u2019s failure to secure vetting approval has not previously been publicly revealed, despite intense scrutiny over his appointment and the release by the government of 147 pages of documents supposed to shed light on the case.<\/p>\n Further documents are due to be released. However, it can also be revealed that senior government officials have been considering whether to withhold from parliament documents that would reveal that Mandelson was not given vetting approval from security officials.<\/p>\n Starmer (right) and Mandelson during a welcome reception in Washington DC in February 2025. Photograph: Carl Court\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The decision, which rests with the Cabinet Office, has not yet been taken. Any attempt to withhold the documents from the intelligence and security committee could amount to a breach of a parliamentary motion to release \u201call papers relating to Mandelson\u2019s appointment\u201d.<\/p>\n The revelation that the now former ambassador was not granted clearance by UK Security Vetting (UKSV), a division of the Cabinet Office that scrutinises the background of prospective civil servants, will raise further questions about the prime minister\u2019s judgment in appointing him.<\/p>\n Starmer will also be pressed over whether he misled the public in remarks about the security vetting process, which he said had given Mandelson \u201cclearance for the role\u201d.<\/p>\n It is not known whether the prime minister was made aware that his pick for Washington ambassador had not been granted approval by UKSV, which conveys its decision as a recommendation to government departments. Neither is it known who in the Foreign Office made the decision to overrule UKSV.<\/p>\n Sir Olly Robbins, the current permanent secretary in the Foreign Office, was the department\u2019s top civil servant in late January 2025 when the decision was made, having taken up the role earlier that month. The foreign secretary was David Lammy, who is now the deputy prime minister.<\/p>\n Lammy (left) with Mandelson during the welcome reception in Washington. Photograph: Carl Court\/PA<\/p>\n Starmer\u2019s then chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who resigned in February<\/a> over his role in appointing Mandelson, could also now be asked whether he had any involvement in, or knowledge or, the decision to overrule UKSV\u2019s denial of clearance.<\/p>\n That decision was made weeks before Mandelson was due to take up his post in February 2025. Seven months later, he was sacked<\/a> over his relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n Ministers and officials are now likely to be pressed over whether they have been fully transparent about the process that led to his appointment.<\/p>\n At a press conference in Hastings on 5 February, Starmer responded to a question from a journalist by saying there had been \u201csecurity vetting, carried out independently by the security services, which is an intensive exercise that gave him [Mandelson] clearance for the role. You have to go through that before you take up the post.\u201d He added: \u201cClearly both the due diligence and the security vetting need to be looked at again.\u201d<\/p>\n This appeared to partly put the blame for Mandelson\u2019s appointment on the failure of a vetting process which, according to sources, his government had overruled.<\/p>\n As a result of Mandelson\u2019s sacking as US ambassador on 11 September 2025, after the extent of his relationship with Epstein came to light, parliamentary scrutiny mounted. On 16 September, Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and Robbins, her top official, responded to questions over the vetting process with a letter to the foreign affairs select committee.<\/p>\n Yvette Cooper. Photograph: Andy Rain\/EPA<\/p>\n \u201cPeter Mandelson\u2019s security vetting was conducted to the usual standard set for developed vetting in line with established Cabinet Office policy,\u201d the letter said, explaining that the process had been undertaken by UKSV on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office<\/a> (FCDO).<\/p>\n Cooper and Robbins said the process had \u201cconcluded with DV clearance being granted by the FCDO in advance of Lord Mandelson taking up post in February\u201d.<\/p>\n What the letter failed to inform parliament was that UKSV had denied Mandelson\u2019s clearance \u2013 a recommendation that threatened Starmer having to withdraw a high-profile appointment he had already made public.<\/p>\n UKSV\u2019s vetting decisions are almost always enforced by government departments, but they technically have the authority to override the recommendations. The precise reason that UKSV recommended that Mandelson not receive clearance is now likely to be subject to intense speculation.<\/p>\n Get in touch<\/p>\n Contact our investigations team<\/p>\n The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods:<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. 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