𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Morgan McSweeney has broken his silence on the Lord Mandelson scandal amid claims he swore at officials while pressing them to approve the disgraced peer’s vetting. The former chief of staff to the Prime Minister quit over the furore in February, saying he took “full responsibility” for advising Sir Keir Starmer to appoint the Labour grandee as ambassador to the US.

Former Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins this week claimed No 10 took a “dismissive” approach to Lord Mandelson’s vetting, with others suggesting Mr McSweeney called the department to say “just f****** approve it”. According to the BBC, Mr McSweeney responded to questions at the Kyiv Security Conference on Thursday with the seven-word comment: “I don’t recognise that description of me.” He added: “I find it strange reading about a character with the same name as mine sometimes, but yeah, I don’t recognise that character.”

The peer was appointed in December 2024, but sacked by the Prime Minister several months later when revelations about the ambassador’s links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein came to light.

Sir Olly, who was dismissed as permanent under-secretary of the Foreign Office for not telling the PM about Lord Mandelson’s vetting, insists he followed correct procedure at all times.

Asked further about Lord Mandelson’s appointment on Thursday, Mr McSweeney said he had taken responsibility for his role.

“I think it’s right to take responsibility when you get the call wrong,” he added.

The Prime Minister has apologised for appointing Lord Mandelson, claiming the peer lied to him about his links to Epstein.