Labour Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden has admitted he could still “see the rationale” behind the appointment of Peter Mandelson to the post of US ambassador.
The Work and Pensions Secretary was speaking to GB News amid furore over the Government’s handling of the vetting process for the disgraced peer, a day after now-ousted Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins’s explosive testimony on the process.
“I could see the rationale for it,” Mr McFadden said this morning when pressed on the scandal.
The Labour minister explained that a major factor in the “two-fold” reasoning was the election of President Donald Trump.
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“We were dealing with a highly political US administration, and this was a very experienced political operator.”
“Political appointments to ambassador positions are unusual, but they're not unheard of. There have been a few over the years,” he added.
Mr McFadden said the other factor promoting Lord Mandelson’s appointment was that “trade and business would be at the heart of the relationship” with Washington.
He said the New Labour architect was someone “who had served, most people thought successfully, as a UK business minister and a European Trade commissioner”.
Pat McFadden defended the initial rationale of the Peter Mandelson appointment
|GB NEWS
“That rationale was quite widely accepted at the time of the appointment.
“It wasn't greeted with horror. It wasn't greeted as though he had been plucked from obscurity or disgrace.
“He was a high-profile political figure and commentator at the time of the appointment,” Mr McFadden insisted.
“If you look at the media coverage at the time, including comments from our opponents in both the Tory party and the Reform Party, it was quite widely welcomed.
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Keir Starmer is facing furore over the handling of the vetting process for the disgraced peer
|GETTY
“Now, plenty has come out since that shows the appointment was a mistake, but that was the rationale for it, which was quite widely accepted at the time,” the Work and Pensions secretary added.
Sir Olly Robbins added fuel to the scandal yesterday, following his sacking by the Prime Minister, after it emerged that Lord Mandelson had failed his security vetting, a fact Sir Keir insists he was not informed of.
Speaking to a Foreign Affairs Committee, the mandarin said there had been pressure from Downing Street to see Lord Mandelson appointed.
“No10 denies there was this pressure. It certainly wasn't coming from me,” Mr McFadden stressed when asked about Sir Olly’s testimony.
“I think the critical thing about this argument about pressure is that (Sir Olly) said he paid no heed to it.
“What's in dispute here is whose decision (was it)? Sir Olly Robbins's answer to that question is that he was in his race to take that decision.
“The Prime Minister believes the information should have been passed to him.
“This is relevant not just at the time of the initial appointment, but for all the subsequent statements that have been made since,” Mr McFadden said.