Number 10 has refused to say it has confidence in the FCDO as an institution in light of the Mandelson saga. It insists not a single minister, including Starmer, Lammy, or Cooper, knew he had failed vetting. Even though David Maddox spoke to then-Comms chief Tim Allan about the story back in September…
Asked directly at the Lobby briefing of press hacks just now if the PM still had confidence in the Foreign Office, the spokesman said:
“[We] couldn’t be stronger in fact that it is both staggering and unbelievable that he was not told… it is clearly a staggering failure… and that is why he has asked for an urgent investigation.”
Asked why Mandelson was pictured wearing a green-striped DV pass despite failing, the spokesman said it was “one for the Foreign Office“. Downing Street is trying to throw the entire department under the bus to save Starmer’s skin…
Douglas Alexander – a friend of Starmer’s – was asked on Sky News if the PM will be in post at the next election. He wasn’t so sure himself:
“I think he will. There are no certainties but of course I think he will lead and I think he should because, frankly, on the biggest call in this parliament he’s exercised the right judgment, which is to keep us out of someone else’s war.”