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Morgan McSweeney says advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson was ‘serious error of judgment’ – UK politics live | Politics
Morgan McSweeney says advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson was ‘serious error of judgment’
Morgan McSweeney is giving evidence now.
He starts with an opening statement, which he begins by recognising the harm done to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims.
He talks about the importance of public service.
I’ve spent much of my working life trying, in whatever role I held, to make this country fairer, stronger and more successful.
I have always believed public service is a privilege. It brings responsibility and scrutiny, but it also brings a meaningful chance to improve people’s lives. That is what motivated me in government.
He moves on to Mandelson.
The appointment of Manderson as ambassador was a serious error of judgment. I advised the prime minister in support of that appointment and I was wrong to do so.
As I said in my resignation statement, I resigned because I believe responsibility should rest with those who make serious mistakes. Accountability in public life cannot apply only when it is convenient.
The prime minister advice relied on my advice and I got it wrong.
Key events
McSweeney says he was ‘surprised’ Foreign Office did not get Epstein files material on Mandelson from US government
Back at the foreign affairs committee, Morgan McSweeney says there is “no way” that Peter Mandelson would have been appointed ambassador to the US if the government had known the information about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein that came out in the Epstein files.
But he suggests the Foreign Office should have been able to get some of this material from the US administration.
One of the things that subsequently surprised me – I would have assumed that, and maybe they did – but I would assume that our Foreign Office would have been in contact with us counterparts to see what information they held on him.
In the Commons Kemi Badenoch is opening the debate on the motion saying Keir Starmer should be referred to the privileges committee.
There is a live feed here.
Here is the text of the motion.
That this House
(1) notes the Rt hon Member for Holborn and St Pancras’s assurances on the floor of the House about “full due process” being followed in the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Ambassador to the United States of America, in particular (but not limited to) answers given on 10 September 2025, 4 February and 22 April 2026, further notes his assertion on 20 April 2026 that he “had made it clear that my position was that the position was subject to developed vetting” and his assertions that “Sir Olly Robbins was absolutely clear that nobody put pressure on him to make this appointment” and that “No pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case” on 22 April 2026; and
(2) accordingly orders that these matters be referred to the Committee of Privileges to consider whether, in making these and other related statements, the Rt hon Member may have misled the House, and whether such conduct amounts to a contempt of the House, bearing in mind the standards expected of Ministers as set out in the House’s own resolution on Ministerial Accountability and the Ministerial Code.
I will stick with the foreign affairs committe for now, but cover highlights from Badenoch’s speech later.
Thornberry intervenes to say she had hoped to finish this hearing at 1pm. They will go beyond that, she says. She hopes they will wrap up by 1.20pm, but they will definitely finish by 1.30pm, she says.
McSweeney says George Osborne seen as ‘very credible’ candidate for US ambassador
Q: Was George Osborne just on the shortlist as a stooge, to make Starmer pick Mandelson?
McSweeney says the civil service had a lot of warning that a Labour government would want to appoint a political figure as ambassador to Washington.
If Kamala Harris had won, Mandelson would not have been appointed, he says.
He says Osborne was a “very credible candidate” for the job.
McSweeney says the Cabinet Office did carry out due dilegence scrutiny for George Osborne when he was being considered as a candidate for the ambassador’s job.
Q: Why were these decisions not well documented?
McSweeney says decisions in government are taken in conversation, as well as on paper.
But he says how government decisions are recorded is not a matter for him.
Thornberry intervenes. She says it is all very well taking decisons orally, but they were not recorded in writing.
She says the government has not provided evidence as to how these decisions were made.
McSweeney is now being asked about his personal relationship with Mandelson.
Q: Did you attend regular dinners with him at his house?
McSweeney says he thinks he attended two meals in Mandelson’s house in 2024. There were other people there too, he says. One was a lunch, and one was a dinner, he thinks.
And he thinks he had two restaurant meals with Mandelson.
McSweeney says government officials under pressure to act quickly – but that’s not pressure ‘to lower standards’
Referring to claims Downing Street put pressure on the Foreign Office to approve Mandelson’s vetting, McSweeney says in January 2025 getting Mandelson’s appointment confirmed wasn’t one of the most important issues facing the government.
He goes on:
I think it’s important that we unpack this idea of pressure because there’s been a lot of conversation about it.
There’s pressure in government every day, and most that pressure comes from within.
Every civil servant minister, [the staff] I worked with, woke up every morning feeling pressure to make the country better, wanting to move faster – that’s where the pressure comes from.
And No 10’s job in all of this is to make sure that the prime minister’s decisions are acted on quickly.
But there is a “real difference” between that, “asking people to lower standards,” McSweeney sayd. “And we never did that.”
McSweeney says false claim he swore at officials has caused him ‘great deal of stress’
McSweeney says he is very glad that Philip Barton has confirmed that McSweeney did not swear at him. (See 9.36am.)
He says:
This swearing rumour is it is something that has caused me a great deal of stress for a number of months.
I do not know why people do this in politics, put around untrue rumours. They phone lots of journalists. Those journalists then phone lots of politicians … It’s damaging for people’s reputations. And I think it’s unfair for staff who can speak for themselves.
Here is a Guardian video from McSweeney’s opening statement.
Thornberry asks McSweeney to clarify the apparent discrepancy between what he said at 11.50am and what he said at 12.23pm.
Sweeney says at the time he put those questions to Mandelson he thought Mandelson was telling the truth.
It was only after the Bloomberg emails were published in September 2025 that he realised Mandelson had not told the truth.
He apologises if he was not clear in his earlier comments.
McSweeney says he did not try to get Mandelson appointed as favour, or because he regarded him as ‘hero’
McSweeney told the committee that he did not try to get Mandelson appointed ambassador as a favour for a friend, or because he regarded him as a “hero”. He said:
In every advice that I gave to the prime minister, hand on heart I thought I was operating in a motive in the national interest.
In politics, over decades, you know a lot of people. In 20 years in politics, I’ve had to fire friends from jobs. I’ve had to turn people down who were desperate for jobs, who were closer friends of mine than Mandelson, who really wanted jobs in No 10, or people who thought they were going to be ministers, because I’ve always tried to operate in national interest …
This was not some hero I was trying to get a job for. I thought that his skills as EU commissioner would help us to get the trade deal that I think the country needed, because we were very, very exposed after Brexit and getting that trade deal right was very important.
Thornberry is asking again about the questions McSweeney asked Mandelson about his relationship with Epstein.
McSweeney says he put the questions in writing because he thought Mandelson was more likely to tell the truth if he were replying in writing. And that way there would be a record.
Q: Did you tell the PM that you did not think Mandelson was telling you the full truth?
McSweeney says he did not say that to the PM.
Q: And did the PM say, if that was a problem, the DV will pick it up.
No, says McSweeney.
He says that at that point he thought Mandelson was telling the truth.
He also makes the point again that, because of the Met investigation, he cannot say what Mandelson said in his replies.
McSweeney says he had no plan in place for Mandelson failing vetting
McSweeney said that, if Mandelson failed his vetting, his appointment would have been withdrawn.
I didn’t have a contingency plan [for Mandelson failing vetting] in place, but was always aware that somebody could fail security vetting, was always aware that that was a possibility for any appointment that we made.
Asked if he thought Mandelson might fail vetting, McSweeney said:
No. And if it had happened, we’d have withdrawn the ambassadorship. It would have been a political embarrassment.
UK News
Macron expected to back Andorra’s moves to decriminalise abortion during visit – Europe live | France
Morning opening: Co-prince Macron visits Andorra
Jakub Krupa
France’s president Emmanuel Macron is in Andorra, performing his duties as the state’s co-prince, alongside the Catholic Bishop of Urgell, Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat.
That in itself could be at best a factoid for your next politics geek pub quiz, but – as briefly covered in yesterday’s Europe Live – there is a serious element to it as his visit comes at a time of policy debate on abortion in the country, which continues to have some of the most restrictive laws in Europe.
Radio France International reported that Andorra’s prime minister Xavier Espot Zamora has “indicated he hopes to decriminalise abortion within a year, though not necessarily legalise it,” but the microstate’s governance setup involving a Catholic bishop makes it tricky.
During today’s speech as Andorra’s co-prince, Macron is expected to speak frankly about the issue and back the changes, as well as endorse plans for Andorra to ratify its association agreement with the European Union, which could be done as early as in July.
Last night, Macron raised a toast “from heart” to celebrate Andorra’s unique history and international position, with political talks only taking place behind the closed doors, but today we should hear more.
Andorra’s public broadcaster RTVA reported on Monday that Macron confirmed that abortion would feature in his speech, with the Catholic co-prince conceding that “we must move forward without breaking the institutional seams.” Let’s see what that means.
I will bring you the key lines from Macron’s speech later.
Separately, the European Parliament is expected to discuss the next EU budget, and the European Commission to talk about reforming its regulatory environment.
Again, I will keep an eye on this for you.
It’s Tuesday, 28 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
‘Public secret’ that Iran war causes delays to stock deliveries to Europe, Finland and Estonia’s leaders confirm
Separately, Finland’s Stubb confirms that Europe faces some delays in stock deliveries from the US as a result of the Middle East war.
He says:
“It is a public secret that some of the stocks and delivered systems in the US are either going elsewhere or being delayed. But I don’t see any need for alarm here in Finland.”
Estonia’s Karis confirms this, too:
“We are in a same position in the sense I know that there is a delay – it is probably a question to our minister of defence what kind of missiles or ammunition we are missing – but as far as I know, its [tactical ballistic missiles] Himars.
But it’s a signal that in Estonia and in Europe in general, we should much much faster develop our defence industry, not relying on different countries in the world.”
‘Prepare for the worst so you can avoid it,’ Finnish president says as he plays down Tusk’s warnings about potential Russian attack in months
In the meantime, let’s check in on what’s happening in Helsinki where Finland’s president Alexander Stubb – often dubbed as Europe’s Trump whisperer because of his close relationship with the US president – is hosting his Estonian counterpart Alar Karis.
The leaders are facing questions about Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk’s comments in the FT from late last week (£), suggesting that a Russian attack on some Nato countries in Europe could come in months, not years.
But it’s probably fair to say they are both not entirely convinced by Tusk’s alarmist claims.
Finland’s Stubb says:
“We work on different type of scenarios, but I come back to the stay cool, calm, and collected [message]. I don’t see an incentive for Russia to test Nato’s Article 5.
There will be always hybrid tests, I don’t deny that. But if you look at the eastern flank, starting from north-east, north-eastern Scandinavia, Norway, Finland, the Baltic states, Poland, then down to Ukraine, I don’t think there will be a test.”
He then says the Americans “are telling us it is for Europe to take more responsibility for our own defence” and to shift conventional forces burden sharing from “60-40 US Europe to probably more closer to 50-50.”
“Where then it’s going to end up, we don’t know. But I do think it’s a good thing that many other European countries are now starting to spend sufficient amounts on their defence,” he says.
He says European countries should draw a lesson from “the Finnish mentality: don’t faff too much about what might happen; prepare for the worst so you can avoid it.”
Karis adds:
“I’m pretty much convinced that the US presence in Europe is as important for the US as [is for us as] well. So we should work on it make sure that the troops remain on the ground at the same time we should put more money on defence in Europe.”
On Tusk’s warnings, he says:
“These ideas that who’s next, Estonia’s next, or the Baltics are next, or Finland is next… these narratives come and go, it’s not the first time … this is a tactic of the Russian Federation to make us a bit anxious but we should stay calm as it’s for an very common the Nordic people.”
Just checking in on Macron in Andorra, just look at how happy he is there!
I keep an eye on his visit there, but so far the ceremonial part mostly involves walking around (the beautiful) Andorra and high-fiving people.
His speech is expected around midday UK (1pm local).
Gunman opens fire at two locations in Athens, leaving at least five people injured
I am also keeping an eye on an incident in Athens where a gunman – identified locally as an 89-year old man – opened fire at a social security office and a courthouse in the city centre.
At least five people are reported to have suffered minor injuries.
State broadcaster ERT said that the gunman – who remains at large – had reportedly thrown envelopes with documents on to the floor after the shooting at the courthouse, saying those were the reasons for his actions, AP reported.
Media freedom ‘under sustained attack’ across EU as public trust drops, report finds
Jon Henley
Europe correspondent
Journalists in the EU face increasing levels of harassment, threats and violence, while news outlets are owned by a shrinking number of proprietors and public trust in the media has plummeted, a report has found.
The Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) said the findings of its fifth annual media freedom report, released on Tuesday, should place EU officials “on high alert”, with media freedom and pluralism “under sustained attack” across mainland Europe.
Europe’s leading civil liberties group also warned public media independence was being steadily eroded by political interference and budget cuts, and journalists were being increasingly hampered by restrictions on free expression and access to information.
“A healthy, pluralistic media system is a litmus test and mirror of democracy,” said Eva Simon, Liberties’ senior advocacy officer. “Where the rule of law weakens – through deliberate government action or neglect – media freedom is undermined.”
Journalist safety in particular reached what the report called “a crisis point” in Europe in 2025, with reporters and media workers facing “extreme physical violence and systemic legal harassment”, including bomb attacks targeting investigative reporters.
Jakub Krupa
As we wait for Macron’s speech, let’s bring you some other news from around Europe.
Meanwhile, Macron is visiting the Andorran primary school in Santa Coloma and absolutely loving spending his time with kids, happily posing to pictures with the Andorran flags.
Last week, he suggested he would quit politics at the end of his term in May next year, and so we should expect to see more of this sort of legacy-building trips and interventions as he enters the final year in office.
Morning opening: Co-prince Macron visits Andorra
Jakub Krupa
France’s president Emmanuel Macron is in Andorra, performing his duties as the state’s co-prince, alongside the Catholic Bishop of Urgell, Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat.
That in itself could be at best a factoid for your next politics geek pub quiz, but – as briefly covered in yesterday’s Europe Live – there is a serious element to it as his visit comes at a time of policy debate on abortion in the country, which continues to have some of the most restrictive laws in Europe.
Radio France International reported that Andorra’s prime minister Xavier Espot Zamora has “indicated he hopes to decriminalise abortion within a year, though not necessarily legalise it,” but the microstate’s governance setup involving a Catholic bishop makes it tricky.
During today’s speech as Andorra’s co-prince, Macron is expected to speak frankly about the issue and back the changes, as well as endorse plans for Andorra to ratify its association agreement with the European Union, which could be done as early as in July.
Last night, Macron raised a toast “from heart” to celebrate Andorra’s unique history and international position, with political talks only taking place behind the closed doors, but today we should hear more.
Andorra’s public broadcaster RTVA reported on Monday that Macron confirmed that abortion would feature in his speech, with the Catholic co-prince conceding that “we must move forward without breaking the institutional seams.” Let’s see what that means.
I will bring you the key lines from Macron’s speech later.
Separately, the European Parliament is expected to discuss the next EU budget, and the European Commission to talk about reforming its regulatory environment.
Again, I will keep an eye on this for you.
It’s Tuesday, 28 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
King Charles will address the US Congress on Tuesday at a time of diplomatic tensions between London and Washington.
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Oxford man named and charged after Popeyes incident
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