Cat Little, the top civil servant in the Cabinet Office, is scheduled to appear before the committee at 9:30 BST on Thursday. Committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry said that the Foreign Office Chief Property and Security officer Ian Collard, and former Foreign Office Top Civil Servant Sir Philip Barton, have also been asked for evidence. Little told Sir Keir starmer last week that the UK Security and Vetting team raised concerns about Lord Mandelson but the Foreign Office still granted him a security clearance. Sir Olly was effectively fired by the prime minister, who expressed anger that the Foreign Office hadn’t told him that Mandelson had failed security vetting. Sir Olly gave his version of the events to the Foreign Affairs Committee, on Tuesday. He said that he hadn’t seen UKSV documents, but that he had been told, in an oral presentation, that Lord Mandelson’s case was “borderline” and that the risks could be managed. He said that he was not allowed to share details of the vetting with the prime minister, but only his final decision. This was due to civil service guidelines. Sir Olly said that his department was under “pressure” to complete the process of clearing Lord Mandelson for his new role in Washington. Lord Mandelson, who had been appointed to the position seven months earlier, was fired due to his friendship with convicted sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer admits that No 10 asked about the job for Matthew Doyle. Key evidence from a sacked official at the heart of Mandelson vetting dispute. What we know about Mandelson vetting and clearance. Sir Keir defended his actions during Prime Minister’s Question, saying that if he had been informed by the Foreign Office about the vetting concerns, “Mandelson wouldn’t have been committed to the post.” Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said that Sir Olly was “sacked because of the prime minister’s failures” and his own MPs knew that this was not fair. Keir Starmer
