Was Olly Robbins misled on Mandelson’s vetting? Here’s our story on that important question raised by his evidence to the FAC. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Political rhetoric: "Just fucking approve it.” Civil service rhetoric: "there was a “strong sense that there was an atmosphere of pressure and a certain dismissiveness about this process”." Compare and contrast.

Olly Robbins: One other serious proposal made in march 2025 - several discussions initiated to me about finding a head of mission position for Matt Doyle (Starmer's ex comms director). I was under strict instruction not to discuss that with the foreign secretary which was uncomfortable.

Writing some analysis for @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social's top live blog of this astonishing FAC hearing with Olly Robbins www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

We are set to enter a new era on 13 May as @alanrenwick.bsky.social takes over from Meg Russell as our Director. Tom Fleming will become Deputy Director and a new lecturer will join us next year. We can also confirm that our annual conference will happen on 24 and 25 June. Read all about it 👇

Starmer confirms at the despatch box our story about Sir Adrian Fulford's role in review of national security vetting www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

your cut-out-and-keep guide to all the key terms in the Mandelson saga www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Starmer to admit he inadvertently gave MPs misleading information on Mandelson

The key questions Keir Starmer must answer over Mandelson appointment

NEW: Downing Street is attempting to demolish the argument from Olly Robbins’ allies that he was prevented by law from telling ministers that Mandelson had failed vetting, ahead of key Commons statement on Monday.

Lots of interesting details on how ministers found out about our investigation on Thursday. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Saturday’s @theguardian.com front page: Starmer warned he faces ‘judgement day’ next week theguardian.com/politics/2026/…

A wonderful clip I have seen being shared recently. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGJH...

Starmer was kept in dark about Mandelson’s vetting by two other top civil servants

Is Mandelson vetting scandal the final straw for Starmer? – The Latest

Exclusive: The head of the civil service, Antonia Romeo, and Cat Little, the Cabinet Office permanent secretary, had known since *March* about Mandelson's vetting failure, but did not inform Starmer until Tuesday evening. Latest Guardian revelation w/ Paul Lewis, @pippacrerar.bsky.social

My explainer on the national security vetting process - and some questions about whether or not Mandelson received a level of clearance about developed vetting for access to documents under the 'STRAP' categorisation. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

exclusive: Retired high court judge, Sir Adrian Fulford, expected to review Peter Mandelson’s vetting process and the wider national security vetting system. Discussions underway in government on terms of reference. Cabinet Office would not commit to publishing terms or findings of review.

Robbins out - @pippacrerar.bsky.social: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Friday's GUARDIAN: Revealed: Mandelson failed security vetting for US role #TomorrowsPapersToday

Almost thought the BBC and Trump had come to some sort of strange legal settlement

Playbook PM: "Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle is getting straight on the blower to the Cabinet Office, my colleague Mason Boycott-Owen texts in."

NEW: Foreign Affairs committee intends to summon Robbins over previous evidence on vetting process. Emily Thornberry, committee chair, says: "Looking at the evidence given & the letters written, to be charitable there are glaring holes. It really is a question of whether we were knowingly misled."

Revealed: Peter Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision +++ The Guardian can also reveal +++ Officials debate withholding Mandelson vetting documents from parliament www.theguardian.com/politics/202... w/ Paul Lewis, @pippacrerar.bsky.social

This is so good

V&A censored catalogues after demands by Chinese printer

The war with Iran has brought 15 US military sites across the UK countryside into the spotlight: here's a visual guide that shows where they are, and what they're used for 📊 🗺️ - with @harryfoxdavies.bsky.social, @robevansgdn.bsky.social and Andrew Witherspoon www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Possibly the most chaotic newsletter I’ve published. Some people would suggest splitting the story about Pret sandwiches from the lengthy piece at the end about a council house sale to a Labour mayoral candidate. They are cowards. www.londoncentric.media/p/pret-corni...

Great, great news.

I think one of the most important things we can do at the moment is insist on high standards from representatives - the Standards Committee contains both MPs and members of the public: if you know someone who would be good at this, encourage them to apply committees.parliament.uk/committee/29...

??? "[Delo] cites the use of confusing language in the transgender debate as an example of something it is impossible for autistic people to grasp." + "Rupert Lowe is a breath of fresh air [...] he shifts the Overton window a little further every day and keeps Reform on its toes (a good thing)."

‘One of the​ biggest ironies of Russiagate is that despite there being no basis to its claim of collusion between Trump and Putin, Christopher Steele does have Russian connections of his own, some of them close to the Kremlin.’ Vadim Nikitin on private spies. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Bitcoin’s founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, has remained hidden for 17 years. A trail of clues — and a year of digging by our reporter, John Carreyrou — led us to a 55-year-old computer scientist in El Salvador named Adam Back.

oh fuck I can't believe today is 17776 Day!!!!!! if you've never.....read? experienced? this I would recommend 1) setting at least one full hour aside 2) clicking on this on a laptop, and just........seeing what happens I would genuinely call the first time I read this "transcendental"

Cracking up reading this user’s posts to the r/UK_Food subreddit www.reddit.com/u/MonkPretty...

A great article about possibly my favourite film - which premiered fifty years ago, yesterday.

👀

Come join me and my great colleagues on the investigations desk at the Guardian. 12-month FTC job. Happy to chat to anyone interested. workwithus.theguardian.com/job-search/e...

This is the best thing I've read on what it really means to introduce AI to kill chains - that speeding up decision making and calling it efficiency is in fact just removing the safeguards that allow systems to work in the first place. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Lots of sensible recommendations in this IMO. But many of them not new - so it is to see if the government will actually enact these, especially the parts which Rycroft suggests should be carried out through the Representation of the People Bill.

fab bit of writing

Boris Johnson has appeared on British American Tobacco's "The Smokeless Word" podcast, hosted by BAT's Chief Corporate Officer, which has a disclaimer (pic 2). Towards the end of the 50 minute discussion, Johnson criticises the Tobacco and Vapes Bill as "absolutely insane".

Ok! Some interesting ones to think about this week

Great to speak on CBC’s ‘As It Happens’ programme this evening about our Farage on Cameo investigation www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Excellent Sunday Times leader on the kneecapping of the public right to know currently being floated by officials Our secrecy-addicted state is at it again. It must be stopped www.thetimes.com/article/82a9...

My latest in the Guardian: 'The defence from Farage is that he can’t be held responsible for what people do with the messages he sends them, which is perhaps why most politicians don’t send personal endorsements to random people over the internet for money' www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Evgeny Lebedev and Ian Botham have lowest Lords attendance, records show