In what the Guardian reported as an exclusive, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was kept uninformed about sensitive information relating to the security vetting of Peter Mandelson — the veteran Labour figure appointed as ambassador to Washington — by two top civil servants, including the head of the civil service itself.
Starmer described the lapse as “unforgivable” and “staggering,” saying senior officials failed to tell him that Mandelson had failed a security vetting process weeks before assuming the ambassadorial role. Internal debates have reportedly raged for weeks within Whitehall over whether to release the highly sensitive details surrounding the affair. The scandal raises fundamental questions about the flow of critical national-security information between the civil service and elected leaders.
