Government officials scrambled to obtain information on Peter Mandelson’s security vetting last September, days after The Independent told Downing Street he had failed the critical checks.
Cat Little, the most senior official in the Cabinet Office, told MPs on Thursday that details were requested on 15 September. The Independent had contacted Sir Keir Starmer’s then director of communications, Tim Allan, on 11 September and later that same day ran a front-page story revealing that Lord Mandelson had failed vetting.
