ElmWatch

Why didn’t the PM tell the Commons on Wednesday about Mandelson’s vetting? Why did it take him so long to find out when the Commons had demanded to see the papers? His defence to accusations of lies is he is incompetent.

@paulmasonnews Journalist! Only put that hat on for right of centre scandals by the looks of it.

Uk Security Vetting is an necessarily apolitical process. I'm assuming that whoever overturned the refusal of DV for Mandelson was constrained by rules saying they could not inform politicians. Bizarre but the most logical explanation.

The problem with Starmerism is that you eventually run out of other people to blame.

@DeborahMeaden Yes, currency movements can do that....

Oh no!!! This is gonna disappoint a lot of twitters…

Olly Robbins resigns as top civil servant in the Foreign Office. I doubt that will be the end of the matter.

Just read on X a pile of old shit from Sky’s alleged political editor @BethRigby in which she trotted out Starmer’s defence that he didn’t know Mandelson had failed his security vetting, That’s not her job. Starmer has comms to do that. Her job, on behalf of viewers/voters is to take Starmer’s story apart. Nobody in their right mind believes Starmer wasn’t party to the cover-up. Just to post crap on X or broadcast it on Sky News is beyond poor. Journalism is about investigation and revelation. Not PR for a lying Prime Minister.

“No part of the vetting process was removed, or skipped in the case of Peter Mandelson”. That's what Downing Street told me when I reported that the govt had rushed through Mandelson's vetting. It is starting to look like yet another lie. On 30 January last year Mandelson received a letter stating: “Your security clearance has been confirmed by [the] vetting unit and is valid until 29 January, 2030." But this picture of him entering Downing Street shows he was given a DV pass weeks earlier. Now we learn he never actually passed. This is scandalous.

If Keir Starmer goes, how will we ever open the Strait of Hormuz again?

No wonder Starmer was so tetchy & fractious at PMQ’s yesterday! He knew he’d be exposed as a liar this week.

All the way back to his Covid curry in Durham, Starmer has learned he can lie with impunity. He’ll try to lie his way out of this one too.

BREAKING 🚨 I understand that the Prime Minister, has just had his phone stolen. More on this as it develops

There is no way on earth the most process-driven and institutionally Foreign Office official ever Olly Robbins decided to unilaterally overrule UKSV and accidentally not tell No10 or his own SoS. This is absolute rubbish. Starmer is making him the scapegoat - do not buy it

@kelvmackenzie Apparently this is rife across Elmbridge - not just Hersham and Walton

Thieves from rival parties have stolen a number of council election boards in the Hersham and Walton area of Surrey, including one from upscale Burwood Park ( average house price almost £2million) where the clever owner had fitted a tracker. It’s been traced to another home on the estate thought to owned by a Labour supporter. Amazed that a Socialist could afford to live on that estate. Police have told Reform they take the thefts seriously and are investigating.

We now have the Government response: Neither the PM nor 10 Downing Street nor the Cabinet Office knew the Foreign Office had decided to ignore the fact Mandelson had failed his security vetting. Call it the ‘know-nothing’ government. But it leaves a major question unanswered: why would the FO take it on itself to make such a huge judgement call — and not inform/consult Downing Street? What was in it for the FO? It hadn’t even necessarily wanted Mandy, unlike Starmer and the 10 Downing Street operation. Doesn’t add up.

The Starmer defence is now that he didn't lie, he just didn't have a clue about anything. It would be funny if he wasn't, you know, prime minister...

“I never turn on my staff” “When they make mistakes, I carry the can” Really? 🤔

@BethRigby Beth will believe anything

NEW: Anger in No 10 tonight - am told by a source that neither the PM nor his advisors were told, over a series of months, that Mandelson had been granted security clearance against the recommendation of UK security vetting. That suggests this information was held in foreign office and not shared. Big Qs now about the PM misleading the House. I am told the PM had been asking Qs about vetting and not been told this information while giving statements to parliament. Told this week PM had been trying to get answers about what happened since Tues night - Guardian got ahead of story. The critical point is that the minister has to have ‘knowingly misled’ the House, and clearly No 10 saying tonight the PM was not aware. I understand the PM had been intending to update the HoC as soon as No 10 had established facts, which they have been doing since Tues. So expect to see the PM come to HoC on Monday to correct the record I asked PM on March 16 whether he has misled the House when he said due process was followed. This is what he told me BETH RIGBY: On the Mandelson files, your national security adviser said the process was quote, weirdly rushed, and Mandelson was appointed before developed vetting had been complete. You told MPs in the House of Commons that due process was followed. Is there a possibility that you have misled the House when you said that? KEIR STARMER: No, and the independent adviser looked at that very question. I think on Thursday or Friday of last week, and answered it very robustly, that the process had been followed. The process wasn't strong enough. And amongst the changes that I intend to put into place is the fact that you can't announce someone until the vetting is finished. It wasn't an individual decision in the Mandelson case, that was the process. Well, you only have to look at that. in the light of the appointment, to realise that that needs to change. But on due process, the process that was there was followed, the problem was the process wasn't strong enough, but ultimately, it was my mistake and I have apologised for that and quite right to.

@Peston ‘Oh Mandelson has failed the vetting, better not tell the Prime Minister or Lammy. We’ll just keep that to ourselves and hope no one finds out. It’ll be ok.’

@Peston Starmer and Lammy are either lying or incompetent Neither is a acceptable and both have to go

I can only assume that something else is going to come out about l'affaire Mandelson and that, whatever it is, it terrifies Starmer.