STARMER AND MANDELSON: THE TIMELINE DOES NOT ADD UP
6 Jan 2025 - Mandelson was given developed vetting (even though it now emerges he had failed). He was pictured in the street with a DV level pass with that issue date.
11 September 2025 - The Independent’s Political Editor asked Downing Street to comment on claims Mandelson had failed DV. The answer: “vetting done by FCDO in the normal way”
4 February 2026 - Starmer appeared at PMQs. Asked whether Mandelson’s “security vetting” contained Esptein allegations, he answered “yes it did”
5 February 2026 - Starmer gave a speech in Hastings where he said: “there was then… security vetting… which gave him clearance for the role”.
14 April 2026 (Tuesday just gone) - No10 maintains Starmer only found out Mandelson had failed DV. No10 claims Starmer ordered an investigation into the issue that day.
16 April 2026 (yesterday) - Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s team maintains she wasn’t told until The Guardian newspaper ran the story yesterday
The long and the short of this timeline is that it simply doesn’t add up.
Starmer repeatedly commented in public and in the Commons about Mandelson’s DV.
His then Director of Comms failed to deny that Mandelson had in fact failed his DV.
The question of Mandelson’s vetting was clearly a live issue in government months prior to this week.
It is simply implausible that Starmer did not know or at least suspect Mandelson’s DV was a problem.