Calls for PM to publish security services' warnings about Mandelson

The Conservatives person urged Sir Keir Starmer to people each concerns raised by the information services astir the assignment of sacked US ambassador Peter Mandelson.

Shadow furniture bureau curate Alex Burghart said his enactment would propulsion for a ballot successful parliament demanding the authorities uncover what issues the information services had successful narration to Lord Mandelson's narration with the disgraced enactment offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.

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It comes aft Sky News' lawman governmental exertion Sam Coates revealed that Number 10 appointed Lord Mandelson to the Washington relation despite the information services' reservations astir the move.

Mr Burghart said worldly from the information services is not usually made public, but that a important magnitude of accusation was already successful the nationalist domain.

He told Sky News Breakfast: "What we're going to bash is we're going to effort and bring a ballot successful parliament to accidental that the authorities has to people this information.

"It volition past beryllium up to Labour MPs to determine whether they privation to ballot to support Peter Mandelson and the premier curate oregon marque the accusation available."

Mr Burghart said helium had spoken to Labour MPs who were "incredibly unhappy astir the premier minister's handling of this", and that it would beryllium "very absorbing to spot whether they privation to beryllium connected the broadside of transparency".

The Liberal Democrats person called for Parliament to beryllium fixed a relation successful vetting the adjacent US ambassador.

"To debar further nationalist embarrassment for our state connected the planetary stage, the Foreign Affairs Committee indispensable present person a relation successful scrutinising Mandelson's successor earlier they are appointed," overseas affairs spokesperson Calum Miller said.

Labour MP Chris Hinchcliff posted connected X that the erstwhile US ambassador should besides beryllium removed from the House of Lords.

Nigel Farage said Sir Keir's determination to name Lord Mandelson arsenic UK ambassador to the US was a "serious misjudgement" by the PM.

"We don't yet cognize what the quality briefings would person said, but it looks arsenic though Morgan McSweeney, the premier minister's right-hand man, and the premier minister, ignored the warnings, carried on," helium said.

"He was past reluctant to get escaped of Mandelson, and he's present near himself successful a precise susceptible presumption with the remainder of the parliamentary Labour Party.

"It is astir the premier minister's judgement, but it is besides astir the relation that Morgan McSweeney plays successful this government."

The timing of the sacking comes up of Donald Trump's authorities sojourn adjacent week, with the US president facing questions implicit his ain ties with Epstein.

The premier curate sacked Lord Mandelson connected Thursday aft caller emails revealed the Labour grandee sent messages of enactment to Epstein adjacent arsenic helium faced jailhouse for enactment offences successful 2008.

In 1 peculiar message, Lord Mandelson had suggested that Epstein's archetypal condemnation was wrongful and should beryllium challenged, Foreign Office curate Stephen Doughty told MPs.

The Foreign Office said the emails showed "the extent and grade of Peter Mandelson's narration with Jeffrey Epstein is materially antithetic from that known astatine the clip of his appointment".

Downing Street has defended the extended vetting process which elder civilian servants spell done successful bid to get jobs, which has raised questions astir whether oregon not they missed thing oregon Number 10 ignored their advice.

The premier minister's authoritative spokesperson besides said yesterday that Number 10 "was not progressive successful the information vetting process".

"This is managed astatine departmental level by the bureau responsible, and immoderate proposition that Number 10 was progressive is untrue," helium told reporters.

Asked repeatedly if immoderate concerns were flagged to Downing Street by the agencies that conducted the vetting of Lord Mandelson, helium did not disregard the assertion, repeating that Number 10 did not behaviour the vetting.

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Speaking to Sky News this morning, Scotland Secretary Douglas Alexander said his absorption to the work of the emails was 1 of "incredulity and revulsion".

He said helium was "not present to defend" Lord Mandelson but said the premier curate "dismissed" the ambassador erstwhile helium became alert of them.

The furniture curate said Lord Mandelson was appointed connected "judgement - a judgement that, fixed the extent of his acquisition arsenic a erstwhile commercialized commissioner for the European Union, his agelong acquisition successful authorities and his argumentation and doing authorities astatine the highest planetary levels, helium could bash a occupation for the United Kingdom".

"We knew this was an unconventional statesmanlike medication and that was the ground connected which determination was a judgement that we needed an unconventional ambassador," helium said.

Mr Alexander added: "If what has emerged present had been known astatine the time, determination is nary uncertainty helium would not person been appointed."