Government accepts MP interviews for ambassadors but rejects veto on Mandelson-style picks

The government has published its formal response to a parliamentary report on the vetting of Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to Washington. The Foreign Office said it welcomes a conversation with the Foreign Affairs Committee about new checks on appointments to head of mission roles.

The response accepts part of the committee's case but stops short of its central recommendation. MPs on the cross-party Foreign Affairs Committee reported in the summer that the process was damning. They found that checks were not in place and that concerns were not listened to. The committee said it should be able to interview politicians put forward for senior diplomatic posts, including the Washington embassy, and block an appointment if needed.

The government has now agreed that the committee should be able to interview prospective candidates for senior diplomatic roles. But it does not accept that MPs should have the power to block an appointment. That leaves the potential veto, which could have prevented Mandelson from taking the job, off the table.

Mandelson was appointed by Keir Starmer despite long-standing concerns about his connection with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He went through the vetting process and was still sent to Washington. The appointment became a major political story, and the government now faces questions about what it has learned.

The response has been described as a half measure. Ministers accept that serious mistakes were made, but they do not want to hand a cross-party group of MPs the power to decide who Britain sends abroad, especially when that group may have different agendas. The political friction over the balance between scrutiny and executive control is likely to continue.