Key figure in Mandelson vetting scandal will not give evidence before MPs
A key figure in the row over Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to Washington will not appear before a parliamentary committee of MPs to give evidence.Emily Thornberry had requested that Ian Collard speak to the foreign affairs committee (FAC) on Tuesday, but confirmed on Saturday that he would submit written answers instead.The committee has already heard from Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office’s top civil servant who was forced out of his post last week after the decision to fail Mandelson during his security vetting was overruled by his department, and the Cabinet Office permanent secretary, Cat Little.Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, is due to appear on Tuesday.Collard, who has given evidence to the select committee previously, is a former ambassador to Lebanon and Panama and was appointed the Foreign Office’s chief property and security officer in March 2023.
Robbins said Collard briefed him on the vetting findings that deemed the peer a borderline case and leaned towards recommending that clearance be denied.Thornberry has asked Collard to detail his recollection of this meeting and whether it lines up with Robbins’s evidence in a letter to the Foreign Office with questions to be answered by 5pm on Monday.She also asked him to set out the following:Whether he felt under pressure to deliver Mandelson’s clearance, after Robbins said there was an “atmosphere of pressure” and “constant chasing” from Downing Street.Whether he had seen the cover form for Mandelson’s vetting by UK Security Vetting (UKSV), the agency responsible for checks on candidates for sensitive posts, in which it had ticked two red boxes – meaning they had “high concern” and recommended “clearance denied or withdrawn”.If he was asked by anyone in the Foreign Office, Downing Street or the Cabinet Office for advice about whether Mandelson required vetting for the post given that he was a member of the House of Lords.
If he advised on how Mandelson should be treated during the period between his appointment being announced and his clearance coming through.Thornberry wrote on X on Saturday: “To be clear, I am satisfied by the reasons behind Ian Collard not giving oral evidence before the FAC at the moment.We have therefore asked for his evidence in writing.”She added: “If we have further questions, we will consider at that point whether we need to ask him to give evidence orally, or whether a further written statement is sufficient.”Robbins said when he took over in the Foreign Office in January 2025, Mandelson was already being granted access to “highly classified briefings” on a case-by-case basis – without his security clearance being confirmed.
He said he had never seen the UKSV form when making the decision on Mandelson’s clearance but was briefed on the vetting,Little told the committee there had been an initial discussion over whether the Labour grandee needed security vetting at all because he was a member of the House of Lords,Starmer has maintained that Robbins was wrong not to have told him the outcome of the so-called developed vetting process and insisted he would not have had the peer as his top diplomat to Washington had he known,The prime minister has stood by his decision to sack the former Foreign Office chief and said he faced only the “everyday pressure of government” to clear the peer’s appointment as ambassador to Washington in 2024,Speaking to the Sunday Times, he said he made a distinction between “different types of pressure”.
He said: “There’s pressure – ‘Can we get this done quickly?’ – which is not an unusual pressure.That is the everyday pressure of government.”Starmer said a pressure “essentially, to disregard the security vetting element and give clearance” would be something different, and that Robbins “was really clear in his mind that wasn’t pressure that was put on him”.
Oil hits highest level since US-Iran ceasefire began, as conflict hurts Gulf crude production – as it happened
The oil price has hit its highest level since the US and Iran agreed a ceasefire more than two weeks ago.Brent crude traded as high as $107.48 a barrel this morning, its highest level since 7 April, the day when the US and Iran agreed to a conditional ceasefire.That deal included a temporary reopening of the strait of Hormuz, after Donald Trump had threatened Iran with widespread destruction.But with the strait still largely blockaged, and oil production in the region having more than halved since the war began (see earlier post), anxiety over the conflict is rising again today
When her ‘soul cat’ died, she was bereft. Now she designs memorial jewelry to help others with pet loss
A layoff and a leap of faith convinced Katie Teixeira she had what it takes to run her own businessIn 2010, Katie Teixeira adopted a kitten found all alone in an abandoned house. The kitten – so tiny she fit in the palm of Teixeira’s hand – needed to be bottle-fed every few hours. For weeks, Teixeira set her alarm for middle-of-the-night feedings and drove home on her lunch break to care for the kitten she named Milo. As the cat grew, so did the connection between them.“We just bonded,” Teixeira says
Officials hugely underestimated impact of AI datacentres on UK carbon emissions
The UK government vastly underestimated the climate impact of artificial intelligence, it has emerged, after officials raised their estimate of carbon emissions from AI by a factor of more than 100.According to new data quietly published this week, energy use by AI datacentres in the UK could cause the emission of up to 123m tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) – about as much as generated by 2.7 million people – over the next 10 years.That latest figure replaces a previous estimate – since deleted – that claimed emissions would reach a maximum of 0.142m tonnes of CO₂ in a single year
‘Look, no hands’: China chases the driverless dream at Beijing car show
At the world’s biggest car fair, which opened in Beijing on Friday, there were hundreds of manufacturers, more than 1,000 vehicles, hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts – and hardly anyone behind a wheel.China’s car companies have cornered the domestic electric vehicle market, and are increasingly visible on the global stage. Now they are turning their attention to what they are betting is the future of mobility: autonomous driving.At the Beijing Auto Fair, a huge industry event that covers 380,000 square metres on the outskirts of the capital, the country’s carmakers showed off a range of intelligent driving technologies.In China’s cut-throat domestic market, nearly every big carmaker is investing heavily in the software and computing power needed to make “hands-free” driving a reality as they compete to offer additional perks and find new ways to generate revenue
Heat on Sinner as Alcaraz’s absence prompts the question: who can fill the void?
Jannik Sinner is not a man for great displays of emotion, but not even the world No 1 could maintain his poker face this time. In the aftermath of an arduous opening win in Madrid on Friday, Sinner learned of the most significant news of the year – Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal from the French Open because of a right wrist injury – during his on-court interview.Sinner’s face immediately fell and he was clearly still processing the information after giving his answer. Later, in his press conference, the Italian lamented Alcaraz’s absence with sincerity: “Tennis needs Carlos,” he said. “Tennis is a much better sport when he’s around
England 62-24 Wales: Women’s Six Nations rugby union – as it happened
Thanks for joining us this afternoon. We’ll be back for the next round of games. We’ll leave you with Sarah’s report from Ashton Gate.There is an alternate universe where Meg Jones played the Six Nations clash between England and Wales in a red shirt instead of a white one. The Red Roses captain was born in Cardiff and can speak fluent Welsh but she chose to play for England, being qualified through her mother
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