00:00Can I ask you this? So let's move on.
00:03I think throughout January, honestly, my office, the Foreign Secretary's office, were under constant pressure.
00:13There was an atmosphere of constant chasing.
00:20Daily phone calls?
00:21I couldn't say for certain daily, but I mean certainly very frequent.
00:26From private office to private office, has this been delivered yet?
00:32Never any interest, as far as I recall, in whether, but only an interest in when.
00:37When you say private office to private office, are you saying private office of number 10?
00:43Yes, I am.
00:45I'm afraid I walked into a situation in which there was already a very, very strong expectation,
00:52and you will have seen the papers released already under the Humble Address,
00:56that, coming from number 10, that he needed to be in post and in America as quickly as humanly possible.
01:03The very first formal communication of this to my predecessor from number 10 private office,
01:08being that they wanted all this done at pace and Mandelson in post before inauguration.
01:12So I'm afraid what that translated into for my team in the Foreign Office and certainly the handover briefing I
01:20was getting as I arrived at post
01:22was what I felt was a generally dismissive attitude to his vetting clearance.
01:28The focus was on getting Mandelson out to Washington quickly.
01:32Despite this atmosphere, an atmosphere of pressure, the department completed developed vetting to the normal high standard.
01:42Because the vetting process is not there to determine fitness for office or reputational risk,
01:48it's there to protect national security.
01:50I'm afraid I don't think at the point of his appointment and four days thereafter,
01:55it was actually a given that he would be vetted.
01:58Again, if you look at the documents submitted under the Humble Address,
02:02there is no stipulation from number 10 that he should be vetted.
02:09The welcome that was sent to him immediately afterwards doesn't say,
02:13welcome to the Foreign Office subject to vetting.
02:16The announcement put out on the 20th of December says that he will be out early in the new year.
02:22It does not say subject to vetting.
02:24The contract does though.
02:26The contract issued to him after he was vetted says that he must maintain his clearance.
02:32So did mine.
02:33That is an absolutely standard stipulation.
02:37A position taken from the Cabinet Office was that there was no need to vet Mandelson.
02:43He was a member of the House of Lords.
02:46He was a privy councillor.
02:47The risks that attending his appointment were well known
02:51and had been made clear to the Prime Minister before appointment.
02:55Now in the end, the FCDO insisted and put its foot down.
02:58I understand my predecessor had to be very firm in person.
03:03But that was a live debate at the point of announcement.
03:07And I think it's important to make that clear to the committee.
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