Speeches by Brandreth.

“I want to go back over some of the questions that the Chair asked you. I will ask some follow-ups and seek some clarification on some of them. You said that you were out in the States at the start of December prior to the appointment being made. When you were out there, in the offline conversations that you were having…”

“Okay. Thinking about the security vetting, we heard from Sir Philip Barton that there was no contingency plan in place in case security clearance was not granted to Peter Mandelson. Had you considered the possibility that clearance would be denied, and had you put any contingency plan in place?”

“You think that he will have sought sufficient information—that he wouldn’t have needed to carry out a fuller investigation, and perhaps suspend rather than immediately sack him from the job?”

“You say that it was not a big conversation, but it obviously went to the head of the diplomatic service, so that is quite a senior conversation to be having. In your answer, you said that you believe that it was not told to David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary at the time, because it was a sensitive HR issue. Are you awa…”

“Okay. So you do not recognise the reports that there may have been emails that said that, if they paid him off, it would limit his reputational risk.”

“I wanted to ask about the fact that back in September 2024, Lord Case—Simon Case—had written to the Prime Minister advising that security vetting should be carried out prior to the appointment of Peter Mandelson. However, the announcement was made on 20 December 2024, and it was not until three days later that security…”

“What was the normal order of process in place at the time? Would you say that the normal order would be vetting and then announcement, or announcement and then vetting?”

“I have a couple of final questions in relation to Matthew Doyle. We heard from Sir Oliver Robbins that the Prime Minister had inquired, as I am sure you are aware, about a diplomatic role for Matthew Doyle. Why do you think that the Prime Minister did not want David Lammy, who was the Foreign Secretary at the time, to …”

“You think that he will have sought sufficient information—that he wouldn’t have needed to carry out a fuller investigation, and perhaps suspend rather than immediately sack him from the job?”

“I just want to check—you talked about the process that Jonathan Powell had gone through, as far as you understood, in terms of going through developed vetting before he took up the political appointment of being National Security Adviser. I understand that, prior to that, he was already a special envoy to the British I…”

“Was there a contingency plan in place for what might happen if he were not granted security clearance?”

“I want to check something with you. Despite being the head of the diplomatic service, you obviously were not asked by No. 10 or the Prime Minister, directly or indirectly, your view on Peter Mandelson’s suitability for the role. Had you been asked, would you have said that you had concerns about the reputational risks …”

“You clearly felt that Peter Mandelson was the right person for the job. You had recommended him to the Prime Minister, although you have said that you believe that the Prime Minister would have sought a wide range of opinions. Despite the fact that you ultimately resigned over your advice to the Prime Minister, would y…”

“And he was the one who ultimately will have made the decision, not being persuaded or doing what somebody else wanted him to do?”

“So at no time, until it came out in the media, were you ever told or aware that he would get payment. You were not consulted at any stage on the terms of his departure.”

“I wanted to ask a very quick follow-up to one of the questions Alex asked, about the types and levels of classified information that Peter Mandelson saw prior to going out to the US. Would you have expected the ambassador to the US to be briefed on and know what was in the China audit?”

“Were you aware that others in No. 10 were considering whether making a severance payment would reduce the likelihood of Lord Mandelson potentially becoming a public critic of the Government?”

“Aware, but did you consider it? Did you actively think this could happen in this case?”

“Sir Oliver Robbins, the former permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, has lost his job. When the PM was asked, he said that he did not accept the explanation as to why he overruled the verdict of security vetting, and that is why he sacked him. Do you think that somebody should be sacked for an error of judgm…”

“Civil servants, including those in ambassadorial roles, can be eligible for a severance payment when their employment is terminated. Were you aware that Peter Mandelson would receive a severance payment on leaving his role?”