Five questions awaiting Starmer as he faces Commons over Mandelson scandal

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to face a packed Commons later where he will address questions over Lord Mandelson's vetting. Sir Keir repeatedly told MPs that "full due process" was followed when Lord Mandelson was appointed as US ambassador in December 2024. The prime minister said he was "staggered" to find out last week that civil servants in the Foreign Office withheld information from him about red flags in the initial vetting process. Amid calls for him to resign from every opposition leader, Sir Keir pledged "true transparency" as he tried to set out what happened. Here are the main questions he needs to answer. Sir Keir told reporters that the first he knew about the red flags was on Tuesday last week, despite them being initially raised to the Foreign Office by UK Security and Vetting (UKSV) officials in January last year. He said the information was passed on to him by Dame Antonia Romeo, the head of the civil service, and Cat Little, the head of the Cabinet Office, who had received it two weeks prior. The documents had been revealed after the Conservatives tabled a motion which demanded the publication of all paperwork relating to the vetting process. The prime m