Parliamentary committee rules ministers lack authority to withhold Mandelson vetting file

The UK Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has concluded that ministers possess no legal authority to withhold Peter Mandelson’s security vetting file, accusing the government of failing to comply with the will of parliament. In a statement released on Friday, the committee of MPs and peers asserted that the terms of a February parliamentary motion, known as a humble address, did not permit the suppression of relevant documents. The government has maintained it will comply with the order to release papers, subject to review by the ISC for potential national security or international relations redactions.

The committee identified a vetting file held by UK Security Vetting (UKSV) as the primary example of withheld material. In January 2025, UKSV recommended that Mandelson’s security clearance for his appointment as US ambassador be denied. The following day, Olly Robbins, then permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, granted Mandelson developed vetting status, allowing him to assume the post in Washington. Robbins, who has since been dismissed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, stated he made the decision based on an oral briefing from an official who had not seen the vetting file, citing pressure from Downing Street to finalise the appointment.

The ISC criticised the government for applying redactions to released documents far more broadly than the parliamentary motion allowed. While the humble address permits redactions on grounds of national security and international relations, the government has also removed third-party personal data and commercially sensitive information. The committee warned that such actions exceeded its scope and urged the government to return to parliament to seek permission for these additional redactions, noting that no independent body had been commissioned to review them.

Beyond the specific dispute over Mandelson’s clearance, the committee condemned the extensive use of WhatsApp for official government business, particularly within the Foreign Office. The ISC described the lack of an audit trail, including agendas, minutes, and records of conversations, as unacceptable in government. The committee highlighted that lengthy WhatsApp exchanges between senior officials and ministers had become a primary format for policy formulation, resulting in a significant erosion of official records.

The ISC also expressed concern that security advice was being overruled for political convenience. In a section titled “failure to adhere to security advice,” the committee stated that dismissing proper security concerns because they were inconvenient was not acceptable. Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart accused the Labour government of attempting to withhold documents related to the “Mandelson-Epstein affair,” alleging a continued cover-up that forced the opposition to intervene to secure information release.