Senior official removed over Mandelson security dispute to face MPs13 mins agoAdam GoldsmithReutersThe Chief Foreign Office Official who was fired after it was revealed that Peter Mandelson received a security clearance in spite of concerns raised during the vetting procedure is expected to be questioned by MPs on Tuesday. This will add to the potential Sir Olly Robbins, the senior official who was fired over the Mandelson security row, will face MPs on Tuesday. On Friday, he called the decision to not inform him earlier “staggering”, and added: “That I was not told that he failed security vetting while I was telling Parliament due process had been adhered to is unforgivable.” “PA MediaMandelson’s appointment as US ambassador was announced by the government in December 2024. The developed vetting process began the same day. He officially took up the position in February 2025 before being removed in September last year when more details about his past relationships with convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein were revealed Sir Olly was the most senior civil service member at the Foreign Office when Mandelson was selected for the Washington role. Dame Emily Thornberry requested that Sir Olly appear before the Foreign Affairs Committee, which she chairs, to answer questions. They also questioned whether Sir Olly had ever seen the recommendation for the Foreign Office to reject Lord Mandelson’s screening. Allies said that it was unlikely that he saw the entire report and he may have only seen specific risks during the process. The Cabinet Office oversees a government agency that carries out vetting of government employees. This agency then makes recommendations to the hiring departments. Chris Mason: Mandelson nightmare haunts Starmer once againWhat we know about Mandelson’s vetting and clearanceKeir Starmer

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AI minister Kendall says that she doesn’t use AI for work. 13 hours agoMatt ChorleyPresenter, BBC Radio 5 Live and NewsnightBBCLiz Kendall, cabinet minister responsible for Artificial Intelligence, has revealed that she does not use AI to do her job. She spoke to me in a driverless car powered by AI, in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live and Newsnight, Kendall stated she only uses AI technology in her personal life, such as after an allergic reaction to a face cream. He said that no one should waste time on things AI can do faster and better. However, his cabinet colleagues were less enthusiastic. Kendall said, “I use AI more for my personal life than at work. I have to be honest.” “I’m more likely to use AI in my personal life.” “Government officials were expected to use the technology. Kendall said that while she was working at the Department for Work and Pensions staff were using AI in job centres to rewrite CVs for people seeking employment. It could also be used summarise answers to government consultations. The New Statesman reported recently that “British law is already being written by AI”, but claimed that it had been decided to not make the use of AI public. “Explaining her recent use of AI, the Labour MP asked: “Do you wanna know the last thing that I used it for ?… I can’t even believe I’m going to say this… I had an allergic reaction. I put on a probably expensive and pointless potion that I had to pay for. “I had AI go through all the ingredients in the products. There are so many products, I asked AI to look at the ingredients to see if there was one common ingredient. They also suggested a cream that would help me stop the eczema. “I checked sources and it came from the National Eczema Society. I went to the pharmacy, I asked for her best cream. She named the same one. I bought it, and it worked. The government’s Sovereign AI Unit is a venture-capital fund that will invest in British AI firms, backed with PS500m public funding. The UK firm Wayve’s driverless car demo was intended to highlight the potential that the minister sees with AI-powered technology. However, there are concerns about the impact of the tech on jobs. In London alone, 123,000 people held taxi or private hire vehicle licenses last year. There were 381,000 in England. Driverless cars could threaten their jobs. Kendall said: “I believe we’ve got level with people and tell them that jobs will be created. Jobs will change. Some jobs will go. But new ones will replace them.” “I can understand why people worry about the impact of driverless cars on jobs. We are offering free AI skills to 10 million people who work in the workforce. That’s our goal. We think this is really important for the future. “But I think it’s likely to be a mixture, isn’t that right? People will still want drive. “Some people have expressed concerns about the dangers posed by AI. YouGov’s poll from last year revealed that 75% of Britons were concerned that AI could pose a danger to humanity. Kendall was asked if she was concerned about the technology. She replied: “No. I don’t think it is dangerous.” We must consider the implications of this for jobs. She added: “I am not an engineer or computer scientist, but I am a history professor and you can see in previous industrial and technology revolutions that this type of transition has led to some jobs being lost and others created. “My key question is: What is the role of government? “Our belief is that we shouldn’t leave people to deal with this inevitable job transition on their own. We need to upskill our nation. We need to upskill the nation.

What The Mandel The Candidates are asked about very personal areas like friendships, family, health and sex life, sometimes over several hours.A higher level of clearance, known as Enhanced Developed Vetting, also exists for a small number of positions, though Mandelson did not need to undergo this for the ambassador role.What happens when someone fails a DV check?Downing Street says it learned this week that the Foreign Office, which oversaw Mandelson’s DV process, granted him clearance “against the recommendation” of the vetting agency.BBC News understands UKSV gave the Foreign Office an explicit recommendation not to approve Mandelson’s vetting.It is understood the agency presented the Foreign Office with a list of potential risks as well as a recommendation summing up those risks, which sources said could be described as falling into one of three categories: yes, yes with caveats, or, no.Sources say the recommendation given to the Foreign Office by the vetting services was a “no”.Sir Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office’s top civil servant who was sacked on Thursday over the awarding of clearance to Mandelson, told MPs in November that clearance decisions are usually signed off by low-ranking officials based on the findings of the vetting report, though decisions can be escalated to senior leaders in specific cases.The Foreign Office is believed to be the only government department in Whitehall with the authority to overrule such a recommendation.Clearance can be awarded with measures in place to manage to risk. The The Sir Sir Why Star