(Adnkronos) – Olly Robbins could be heard next Tuesday by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee regarding the Mandelson affair and his appointment as ambassador to the United States despite failing the security vetting procedure. In a letter, published on the committee’s website, Labour MP and committee chair Emily Thornberry stated that she wants to receive a response from the former senior Foreign Office official – effectively removed from his post today following what happened – by 10 am on Monday. This would allow Robbins to provide his version of events.
The Guardian’s investigation – which revealed the lack of a ‘green light’ on security for Mandelson, who was nevertheless appointed ambassador to the United States – has “called into question” the answers provided by Robbins to the committee in a letter from last September and his subsequent statements before the committee following Mandelson’s removal – involved in the Epstein scandal – from the post of ambassador to Washington.
In a letter to MPs in September, Robbins had told the committee that the procedure had “concluded with the issuance of developed vetting (DV) authorization” by the Foreign Office, without however mentioning the fact that the security officials in charge of the vetting had advised against giving the green light on ‘developed vetting’, the highest level of checks that anyone in the UK who, in the context of the role they are called upon to perform, can access “Top Secret” information or work in intelligence agencies, must pass. It consists of a thorough, multi-stage verification process, which includes detailed questionnaires, personal interviews, and investigations into finances, relationships, and lifestyle.
