Key information withheld from PM by top civil servants

The prime minister was kept in the dark about sensitive information relating to Peter Mandelson's security vetting by two other top civil servants, including the head of the civil service, the Guardian can reveal.

- Paul Lewis, Henry Dyer, Pippa Crerar

Two other top civil servants, including the cabinet secretary, Antonia Romeo, failed to immediately notify him when they discovered that United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) had advised that Mandelson should be denied clearance.

Downing Street has said the prime minister did not find out about the vetting failure, which occurred in January 2025, until Tuesday this week. However, the Guardian has established that both Romeo, the government's most senior civil servant, and Catherine Little, the Cabinet Office's permanent secretary, have been aware since March.

Romeo, who was appointed by Starmer in February, was told about the failure by Little in March.

Little is the top civil servant at the Cabinet Office, which UKSV is part of. Her department has also been overseeing the process of complying with a so-called humble address, a parliamentary motion that ordered the government to release "all papers" relevant to Mandelson's appointment.

The motion made an exception for papers prejudicial to national security or international relations, which it said should be released to parliament's intelligence and security committee (ISC). A government source insisted Little "did not sit on the information" but was involved in a complex process and trying to establish the risks in sharing highly sensitive information, including with the prime minister.