Speeches by Ballinger.

“Do you think the argument that Lord Mandelson would not need DV clearance because he was a Privy Counsellor was credible?”

“Do you think that attitude, and because it is a different process for spads from civil servants—and I got DV when I was in the Foreign Office, as I think every other person does—contributed to you trying to expedite the process and having an uninterested attitude towards Peter Mandelson getting DV?”

“Thank you. Knowing what you know now about Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein and everything else, do you think that the UKSV made the correct decision, and that the FCDO made the correct decision?”

“Okay, Jonathan Powell.”

“You did not think to consult with the head of the diplomatic service on that timeline before you announced it and then put on pressure to deliver on that timeline.”

“We heard from Sir Philip this morning that he felt that the speed of the appointment was unnecessary: Karen Pierce was doing a good job, and the Administration would take some time to set up. In his evidence, Olly Robbins said that the whole process felt “weirdly rushed”. Why did you push for such a short timeline betw…”

“We twice heard, both from Philip Barton and Sir Olly, that the Cabinet Office was asking whether DV was necessary at all and whether, because Lord Mandelson was a Privy Counsellor, that would be sufficient. Presumably the Cabinet Office would not have done that of their own volition. Did that come from No. 10? Where di…”

“Does it change your view on the appropriateness of political appointments to ambassadorial positions at all?”

“Finally, do you think the Prime Minister’s statement that “full due process was followed” is a fair description of what happened in Mandelson’s case?”

“When you were appointed, after the election, what level of security clearance did you have?”

“Where might that thought have come from?”

“You said yourself that because you and the National Security Adviser were appointed without DV, it was not unusual. Do you think that No. 10, when you were chief of staff, had a “dismissive” or an “uninterested” approach to security vetting because of your own experience?”

“This whole thing is about security clearances and developed vetting; we have had a long conversation about the process. I think if you had had developed vetting at that point, when you were chief of staff to the Prime Minister, you would be able to tell us, and I am surprised that you are not telling us.”

“It is in the report. I have just told you.”

“The hon. Member’s concerns are about the unregulated market. However, the proposals in the APPG report are talking about restrictions on gambling advertising, including unregulated gambling advertising. He talks about the growth in unregulated gambling advertising, which is of course a big problem. But surely if those …”

“Absolutely. This has been driven a lot by the argument that the unregulated industry will somehow capture the market. If we are talking about restrictions on gambling advertising, that should include such restrictions on the unregulated gambling market, which as we can see is already advertising in football and online …”

“You have rightly talked about the importance of keeping this highly classified information in the vetting system away from the Committee and away from the public generally, but there appear to be at least two occasions where this information was leaked to the press. Two days after you informed the Prime Minister, there…”

“I was not expecting to hear the hon. Member parroting big tobacco talking lines. Because of all the public health benefits and because of the reduced number of people dying from lung cancer, I think the public would be happy that the rate of smoking has reduced from 60% in the 1950s to 10%. Some 65% of people think chi…”

“The APPG recognise that horseracing and greyhound racing are much more dependent on gambling advertising than other industries; that is why we made that separation.”

“I am afraid that is not correct. The Gambling Commission has not written to me challenging my figures. Members of the gambling industry have written to the all-party group challenging some of the figures in other reports, but our figures are from the Gambling Commission’s own survey on children and young people. The st…”