Morgan McSweeney’s testimony will be another perilous moment for the PM

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Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, will give evidence to parliament next week on the circumstances surrounding the security vetting of Peter Mandelson to be US ambassador. McSweeney was an ally of Mandelson and reportedly told the Foreign Office to “just fucking approve” him. Olly Robbins, the top official in the department until he was sacked last week, said yesterday that there was an “atmosphere of pressure” to clear Mandelson. Starmer’s position is that there was no such pressure from No 10 and that it “beggars belief” that he was not told that Mandelson had failed vetting. But if Starmer could be kept in the dark about this, he shouldn’t be so confident that his team weren’t lobbying on Mandelson’s behalf. McSweeney’s appearance may put many unknowns to rest. Or it could raise more questions.