Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, to be questioned by MPs
Morgan McSweeney is facing a showdown with MPs who will grill him on whether he placed extreme pressure on the Foreign Office to approve Peter Mandelson as ambassador.The prime minister’s former chief of staff will be questioned next Tuesday by the foreign affairs select committee over allegations made by the former Foreign Office permanent secretary Olly Robbins, who said No 10 had questioned why Mandelson should be subject to any vetting.Robbins, who was sacked by Keir Starmer after the Guardian revealed formal vetting concerns were overruled, said there had been a “dismissive” attitude from Downing Street towards security vetting.McSweeney will be asked by MPs to also respond to allegations by Robbins that another ambassadorial post was sought for Starmer’s outgoing communications chief Matthew Doyle, who was later made a peer.McSweeney, who left No 10 in February, has been adamant he did not know that Mandelson had failed his security vetting, which was then overridden by the Foreign Office.
It is highly unusual for Downing Street chiefs of staff to appear before Commons committees even after they have left post, giving MPs the rare opportunity to question one of the most powerful figures in recent Labour history,The committee has also asked a number of other key officials to appear, including Philip Barton, Robbins’ predecessor as Foreign Office permanent secretary, who was in post when Mandelson’s appointment was announced and handed over to Olly Robbins in January,Ian Collard, the Foreign Office’s then director of security, who briefed Robbins on UKSV’s findings, has also been summoned,Cat Little, the permanent secretary to the Cabinet Office, will appear on Thursday,Little, who has been at the heart of the row between the Foreign Office and her department, is expected to set out a counterpoint to the evidence given by Robbins earlier this week.
MPs are expected to question Little on why she did not inform Starmer immediately when she discovered the vetting failure,The Guardian revealed last week that she, along with the head of the civil service, Antonia Romeo, had been aware since March,Robbins told MPs on Tuesday that No 10 had created an “atmosphere of pressure” that made it impossible to deny clearance for Mandelson and had taken a “dismissive” attitude to vetting,Emily Thornberry, the foreign affairs committee chair, asked whether it had been McSweeney, to which Robbins said it was mainly the prime minister’s private office, which is staffed by civil servants,But he added: “I think that the private office would only have been [putting on] this pressure themselves if they were under pressure.
”McSweeney quit his role in February over Mandelson’s appointment, saying he took “full responsibility” for advising the prime minister to appoint Mandelson, who had been a close ally and political mentor,The senior No 10 adviser’s position had grown increasingly untenable as pressure on Starmer mounted over the scandal, which followed the release of emails underlining the extent of Mandelson’s relationship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,The Mandelson scandal dominated PMQs on Wednesday, with Starmer coming under fire from the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, and Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, over the issue,The prime minister said Robbins’s evidence “puts to bed all the allegations levelled at me” after claims he had misled parliament,However, Starmer appeared to confirm that No 10 had tried to find an ambassadorial posting for his former director of communications.
“Matthew Doyle worked for many years in public service for me as PM and other ministers,” he said,“When people leave roles there are often conversations about other roles, but nothing came of this,”Little obtained the summary document on Mandelson’s vetting at the end of March and several weeks later, after taking legal advice and making other checks, she informed the prime minister,Sources said she had found it difficult to get information from the Foreign Office,The Guardian understands that Little appeared in private before parliament’s intelligence and security committee on Tuesday.
The committee is understood to be furious at the lack of crucial documents relating to Robbins’s decision to overturn the recommendation to deny Mandelson security clearance, and his failure to record notes of important meetings.Collard is expected to be questioned on whether he briefed Robbins that Mandelson was a “borderline” case rather than having failed vetting, a central point of contention between Robbins and No 10.Barton has been asked to appear to give evidence on whether he also perceived there to be significant pressure from No 10 to approve the appointment of Mandelson.
Lewis Moody ‘picking up baton’ left by Doddie Weir with MND fundraising cycle ride
The former England captain Lewis Moody has said he is “picking up the baton” left by Doddie Weir after announcing plans to lead a 500-mile, seven-day cycling challenge this summer to raise funds for the fight against motor neurone disease.Moody will be joined by many of his fellow 2003 World Cup winners, including Jonny Wilkinson, Mike Tindall and Ben Kay, as well as his teenage sons on a journey from Newcastle to the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, with all proceeds going to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.The former Leicester, Bath and British & Irish Lions forward became the latest retired player to be diagnosed with MND, which he revealed last October, with the disease having claimed the lives of Weir and the former rugby league international Rob Burrow in the past four years.The My Name’5 Doddie Foundation has raised more than £23.5m to fund MND research, and Moody has committed to continuing the former Scotland international’s legacy in fighting a disease that results in six new diagnoses each day in the UK alone
South Africa struggling to secure UK TV deal to screen England Test series
Cricket South Africa has yet to secure a UK television rights deal for England’s marquee Test series next winter with Sky Sports declining an offer to renew a long-term contract that expired last year.Sky’s apparent reluctance to extend a relationship that began more than 30 years ago has left CSA searching for alternative broadcast partners so that the three Tests over Christmas and three one-day internationals in January are televised in the UK.The decision is all the more surprising as South Africa also hosts Australia in a three-Test series in October in a time zone that is convenient to British audiences, and reflects the dwindling value of bilateral international cricket.TNT Sports has made a habit of buying rights rejected by Sky in the past, including last winter’s Ashes and those for Test series in India and Pakistan, but are unable to commit at present due to budget pressures and uncertainty over its long-term ownership. Paramount Skydance has agreed a $110bn deal to buy parent company Warner Bros Discovery but it has yet to be approved by United States regulators, leaving TNT in a holding pattern
‘Tennis is about being fluid’: How Iga Swiatek is drawing on her time with Rafael Nadal to regain No 1 spot
Iga Swiatek had little interest in tennis as a teenager, but the one exception was Rafael Nadal. She spent her formative years idolising the Spaniard, who won 22 majors and, from afar, soon became one of his most avid students.His influence is evident in the heavy topspin the Pole generates with her forehand, still a singular weapon on the women’s tour, proof of the intensity she demands of herself on every point and her four French Open titles earned by the time she was barely 23.After a youth spent following Nadal’s career, Swiatek’s success allowed her to build a friendly rapport with him away from the court. Their friendship then came full circle this month as she found herself being coached by Nadal at his academy in Mallorca alongside her new full-time coach Francisco Roig, Nadal’s former coach of 18 years
‘Two are stronger than one’: Boston Marathon duo praised for helping struggling runner cross finish line
A pair of Boston Marathon runners who teamed up to help a fellow athlete across the race’s finish line have been praised for their “beautiful moment” of sportsmanship.Ajay Haridasse, a 21-year-old university student from Wakefield, Massachusetts, found himself stumbling after passing the 26-mile mark in Monday’s race. After falling for a fourth time, he was “getting ready to crawl” to the finish line, Haridasse told the Boston Herald.As he attempted to regain his strength, Aaron Beggs, a 40-year-old from Northern Ireland, appeared on his left side and pulled Haridasse to his feet. Haridasse stumbled again, only to be caught from behind by another runner, Robson De Oliveira, a 36-year-old of Brazil
London Marathon organisers believe two-day event could bring £400m economic boost
London Marathon organisers have revealed more details about plans to stage a two-day event next year which they say would be an “incredible celebration” that would raise more than £130m for charity and bring in £400m in social and economic benefits.As the Guardian revealed last month, advanced talks are under way for the one-off event which would allow around 100,000 people to take part, nearly double the number running on Sunday.Speaking on Wednesday, Hugh Brasher, the event director, confirmed that one of the two days would be devoted to faster women, with the women’s elite race, women’s championship and good-for-age runners and a mixed mass participation race all taking place. The other day would then focus more on the men’s races while also having a second mass participation race for men and women.Brasher also promised those still holding up the deal that 2027 would be a one-off “double” as the London Marathon did not want to “lose the love” it has from runners, fans and people living in the capital
Ryder Cup tickets hit record Europe high at £434 a day in Ireland next year
Ryder Cup Europe has doubled the cost of a ticket to attend next year’s marquee event when the US will seek to regain the trophy at Adare Manor in County Limerick.Organisers will charge fans €499 (£434) for a daily ticket when a batch are released to those living in Ireland, where the centenary event is being held, on Friday. That is almost double the €260 face value spectators paid in Rome three years ago.Practice-day covers will be more reasonably priced at €89 for adults and €20 for children for the Tuesday and Wednesday sessions, rising to €179 and €30 for Thursday, which includes the opening ceremony.Despite the prices being at record levels for European-hosted Ryder Cup, fans paid $750 (£555) to watch Europe’s victory over the US at Bethpage in New York last year
Bill banning people born after 2008 from buying tobacco clears UK parliament
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