What might McSweeney and Barton reveal about Mandelson vetting scandal?
The evidence of two ex-officials on Tuesday morning will be a key moment in the growing crisis around Peter Mandelson’s vetting for US ambassador that threatens to bring down Keir Starmer’s premiership.The prime minister will later face a crucial vote on a parliamentary inquiry into whether he misled MPs when claiming “full due process” had been followed.Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s former chief of staff, and Philip Barton, who was the top official in the Foreign Office (FCDO), have been called by the foreign affairs committee after the Guardian’s revelation that Mandelson was given security clearance despite vetting officials recommending it be denied.Their testimonies will come after an explosive parliamentary session last week.Starmer told the Commons last Monday that he and other ministers had not been told Mandelson had failed the “developed vetting” process carried out by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV).
He pointed the finger at Olly Robbins, who succeeded Barton as the top civil servant in the FCDO in January 2025.After the Guardian broke the news that the Foreign Office had overruled UKSV, the prime minister sacked Robbins.Robbins gave his side of the story last Tuesday.So what questions might Barton and McSweeney face?At the heart of the charges levied by opposition MPs against Starmer is his claim that “full due process” was followed in Mandelson’s appointment, first made last September and which the prime minister last week said he stood by.As key officials in the Foreign Office and Downing Street around the time Starmer made the decision to appoint Mandelson to Britain’s top diplomatic posting, Barton and McSweeney are well placed to comment on questions of due process.
McSweeney has already said he takes “full responsibility” for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson – but that is a question of judgment, not process.According to Robbins, Barton had to be “very firm in person” with the Cabinet Office to insist that Mandelson go through the developed vetting process.Nearly all of the staff, including junior civil servants, in the FCDO are required to have this level of security clearance.So it would have been remarkable for Mandelson not to have done so.Robbins said, however, there was a “position taken from the Cabinet Office” that, as Mandelson was a peer and a privy counsellor – a mostly honorary role given to senior ministers which gives access to certain briefings – there was no need.
But the Cabinet Office has challenged this and suggested it was the FCDO that proposed there was no need to vet Mandelson.Barton could explain his role in that debate.So too might McSweeney, who had a hand in the due diligence process carried out by the Cabinet Office before Mandelson was announced by Starmer.When McSweeney resigned in February 2026, he said: “While I did not oversee the due diligence and vetting process, I believe that process must now be fundamentally overhauled.” What was it about those processes that McSweeney felt should be overhauled?At prime minister’s questions, Starmer sought to use Robbins’s testimony to dismiss claims Downing Street had put pressure on the FCDO to get Mandelson to Washington as soon as possible.
Starmer said: “No pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case.”But Robbins said: “Throughout January, honestly, my office and the foreign secretary’s office were under constant pressure.” He characterised the questions from Downing Street as being about “when” Mandelson would be in post, not “whether” he might.Robbins added: “Philip’s [Barton] handover to me has contributed to my strong sense that there was an atmosphere of pressure and a certain dismissiveness about this DV process”.Barton will probably be asked to give further details.
McSweeney may be asked to explain whether he had any role in putting pressure on officials in Downing Street to chase the FCDO.Before Mandelson had completed vetting, he was given access to “higher-classification briefings” and a pass to the FCDO’s building.Photographs of Mandelson from mid-January seem to suggest the pass was awarded towards the start of the month, while Barton was still in post.One former official, familiar with security processes across the British state, has told the Guardian that such a pass being given on an interim basis would be highly unusual, as it gives access to classified areas across government, not just in the FCDO.Barton may face questions on any role he played in facilitating access for Mandelson before his clearance.
Was it due to any pressure or particular expectations from Downing Street?Probably not.The FCDO’s head of security, Ian Collard, was also called to give evidence to MPs.But he will not appear in person.He has been sent questions by the foreign affairs committee, which describes him as “the only person who was involved in some of the process which granted Lord Mandelson DV clearance”, asking for further details of the crucial 29 January 2025 meeting with Robbins.Perhaps, given both have departed government, Barton and McSweeney could explain why this might be the case.
What advice was given to ministers that led to the foreign secretary telling MPs that Collard could not appear in front of them? He has, after all, previously given evidence to a different committee while in the same role.
Nationwide should give its boardroom challenger a fair run
James Sherwin-Smith, who is aiming to become the first customer to be voted onto the board of Nationwide in nearly 25 years, deserves top marks for perseverance. A year ago his attempt to get his name on the ballot paper was stymied, or so it seemed, by data protection rules and so forth. This time, he has the necessary 250 nominations to be a candidate at the July annual meeting.It is a development to welcome. As argued here a year ago, there is something of a democracy deficit at Nationwide
Claire’s to close remaining UK stores on Tuesday with more than 1,000 job losses
Jewellery and accessories chain Claire’s is closing its final UK stores on Tuesday with the loss of more than 1,000 jobs and ending three decades on British high streets.Sources said staff at Claire’s, which had 154 stores when it collapsed in January, had been asked to pack up the final stock and equipment with the remaining outlets to formally close on Tuesday after successive waves of closures in recent weeks.Administrators at Kroll confirmed that all remaining shops ceased trading on Monday and “all store employees have been advised of redundancy”.The move does not affect the retailer’s 356 concessions, including many in Asda stores, and its head office.Talks are thought to be continuing to find a new owner for the Claire’s brand in the UK with French entrepreneur Julien Jarjoura, who controls the brand in several mainland European countries
If it’s only AI that’s keeping you up at night, maybe you’re doing OK | Letters
Reading Alexander Hurst’s column on the frictionless experience of life promised – or threatened – by AI algorithms, I was struck by how little I recognised the picture he painted of daily experience being stripped of the friction necessary to furnish it with meaning (To be human is to live with friction. That’s something AI boosters will never understand, 23 April). Rather, isn’t it the case that, bar the mega-rich, we’re all suffering from an excess of friction due to rising living costs, an avoidably dilapidated public realm, poor housing and innumerable related stresses?I belong to a volunteer group that twice a week cooks hot meals for homeless and destitute people in central Liverpool. The hot meal they collect from us may be the only relief they get that day from the constant, grinding analogue hassles of invisibility, illness, disrespect and material poverty: the only recognition they receive that a degree of comfort is a prerequisite for survival. The specific depredations of AI, created and encouraged by men without souls, seem so distant in these cases as to be nonexistent
Elon Musk and Sam Altman face off in court over OpenAI’s founding mission
A lawsuit between two of Silicon Valley’s biggest tycoons goes to trial on Monday in California, the culmination of a years-long bitter feud. Elon Musk has accused Sam Altman of betraying the founding agreement of the non-profit they started together, OpenAI, by changing it to a for-profit enterprise.Musk accuses Altman, OpenAI, its president Greg Brockman, and its major partner Microsoft of breach of contract and unjust enrichment in the lawsuit. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Monday morning at a federal courthouse in Oakland, with opening arguments from both sides expected later this week. The trial is slated to last two to three weeks
Gay and Bedingham ace Durham’s chase against Lancashire: county cricket, day four – as it happened
Durham’s Emilio Gay and David Bedingham turned a substantial run chase into an ice-cream and Pimm’s knockabout at Chester-le-Street, chasing down a target of 336 to beat Lancashire with 18 overs to spare. Their unbeaten centuries, in a record stand, came at a gallop and Lancashire had no answer, despite winkling out Ben McKinney and Alex Lees before lunch. “The team is starting to believe,” said the Durham head coach, Ryan Campbell. “There’s a feeling of calmness around the group that I haven’t seen in a while.”Tom Westley and Dean Elgar both made centuries and in process batted Essex to safety against Surrey at the Oval, in a game soaked in sunshine and runs
Murphy goes head-to-head with Loughnane on Guineas weekend in jockeys’ title race
A little over a month after the Brocklesby at Doncaster launched the new season on turf, the Flat jockeys’ championship will finally be off and running at Newmarket on Saturday. For the first time since Oisin Murphy and William Buick took the race all the way to Champions Day in October 2021, there is a genuine chance of a contest that extends beyond the end of July.It has the potential to be a historic contest too, and the bookies cannot agree on a favourite in what is likely to be a straight head-to-head between 20-year-old Billy Loughnane - who would be the youngest champion for more than a century - and Murphy, the reigning champion, looking to join Kieren Fallon as a six-time winner.Murphy was an easy victor with a total of 143 winners last season, and while Loughnane was the only other rider to reach three figures, he was a long way adrift on 108. On that basis, punters might expect Murphy to be a heavy favourite, but at lunchtime on Monday, it was possible to back Murphy at 11-10 with Ladbrokes, and Loughnane at 6-4 with William Hill – an 88% book in a contest for which Rossa Ryan, at 16-1, is the only other runner shorter than 25-1
Shell to buy Canadian shale producer ARC Resources for $16.4bn
Goldman raises oil price forecasts as Iran war deadlock continues; Shell buying Canada’s ARC in $13.6bn deal – as it happened
Musk and Altman’s bitter feud over OpenAI to be laid bare in court
UK departments at odds over energy demands of AI datacentres
Higgins ends O’Sullivan’s attempt for eighth world snooker title as Selby blasts ‘horrific’ conditions
‘I can run 1:58’: Sabastian Sawe sets new target after historic London Marathon win