Mandelson Vetting Row Deepens

Sir Olly Robbins, the recently dismissed permanent secretary of the Foreign Office, appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee to provide a scathing account of the Mandelson appointment.

He alleged that Number 10 pressured officials to approve the developed vetting clearance as quickly as humanly possible.

The testimony further complicates Prime Minister Keir Starmer's position, as Starmer had previously suggested he was kept in the dark about Mandelson's vetting failures.

The row continues to escalate, with opposition leaders calling for the Prime Minister's resignation amid claims of political interference in national security protocols.