Ministerial statement on Monday, 20 April 2026, in the House of Lords, led by Baroness Smith of Basildon.

Security Vetting

Lords statement on the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.

Secondary information

Type: Parliamentary proceeding
Reference: 855 cc551-565
Session: 2024-26
Department: Lord Privy Seal
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Proceeding contributions: Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 cc551-4 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, I will repeat the Statement the Prime Minister made earlier today:
“With permissi...; Lord True | 855 cc554-6 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, this is a tortuous and, frankly, somewhat embarrassing Statement—stable door after stab...; Lord Purvis of Tweed | 855 cc555-8 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, one thing I agree with in this Statement is the recognition of the victims of the crime...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c558 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, I will do my best to answer the questions in the time available. First, in response to ...; 855 c558 (Link to this contribution)
Oh!; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c559 (Link to this contribution)
It is a failure of good governance, in that there should be information made available to Ministe...; Lord Kennedy of Southwark | 855 c559 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, we now move on to up to 20 minutes of Back-Bench questions. This is set out in the Comp...; Lord Garnier | 855 c559 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, I am grateful to the Leader of the House for her repetition of the Statement made by th...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c560 (Link to this contribution)
The Prime Minister said that he made a wrong decision, but I have to say to the noble and learned...; Lord Clarke of Nottingham | 855 c560 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, the totally new twist to this long-running saga is the discovery that the Foreign Offic...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 cc560-1 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to the noble Lord. He is right. When you see the multiple opportunities to inform t...; Lord Beamish | 855 c561 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, the humble Address that Parliament passed gave the Intelligence and Security Committee,...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c561 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to my noble friend and his committee for their work on this. He underlines our conc...; Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon | 855 c561 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, I am sure the noble Baroness will join me in paying tribute to our many diplomats aroun...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c561 (Link to this contribution)
I agree that our diplomats around the world do an amazing job in difficult circumstances. Anyone ...; Lord Vaux of Harrowden | 855 c562 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, we have had a lot of discussions in this House over the last year about employment righ...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c562 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, there have been times when the Prime Minister has said that he has had to act quickly, ...; Lord Roe of West Wickham | 855 c562 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Leader of the House for her clarity and for repeating the S...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c562 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to my noble friend and I think we are all relieved to know that he has been through...; Lord McLoughlin | 855 c563 (Link to this contribution)
Can the Leader of the House tell us why the Prime Minister ignored the advice of the then Cabinet...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c563 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, I think the Prime Minister received a number of items of advice. He receives advice eve...; Lord Harris of Haringey | 855 c563 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, like my noble friend Lord Roe, I have been through the developed vetting process. It is...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c563 (Link to this contribution)
Yes, there is a difference, although the process undertaken by UKSV may be very similar. A summar...; Lord Pannick | 855 c563 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, is it possible that the reason the Foreign Office did not inform the Prime Minister tha...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c564 (Link to this contribution)
It is hard to say what is in somebody’s mind when they make a judgment call. However, the Prime M...; Lord Harper | 855 c564 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, the Prime Minister made it clear that he would have not made the appointment if he had ...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c564 (Link to this contribution)
My understanding is that the Foreign Office was asked to provide this to No. 10 and the Prime Min...; Baroness Foster of Oxton | 855 c564 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, I first echo the comments made by my noble friend Lord True, who had some very searchin...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 cc564-5 (Link to this contribution)
I have already been clear to the House that I trust the Prime Minister’s judgment. The noble Baro...; Baroness Hoey | 855 c565 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, is the noble Baroness aware of whether the Foreign Office has turned down red flag secu...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c565 (Link to this contribution)
It is not just ambassadors; a number of public appointments are made under this process, and this...; Lord Pickles | 855 c565 (Link to this contribution)
My Lords, the Prime Minister used his considerable communication skills to make it clear that he ...; Baroness Smith of Basildon | 855 c565 (Link to this contribution)
I think it is reasonable that the Prime Minister should be given information. If you make an appo...
Subjects: Disclosure of information Civil servants Diplomatic service National security Public appointments Ministers Mandelson, Lord Vetting USA Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office United Kingdom Security Vetting
Link: View this Parliamentary proceeding on hansard.parliament.uk

Security Vetting

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