Sir Olly was dismissed last week after granting security clearance for Lord Mandelson against official recommendations without informing No 10.
- The government claims UKSV explicitly recommended against the vetting approval.
- Sir Olly asserts he only received a verbal briefing describing the view as “borderline.”
- Retired judge Sir Adrian Fulford is reviewing whether the information provided to Sir Olly was accurate.
Dispute Over Security Recommendations
The government states that the UK Security Vetting (UKSV) provided an explicit recommendation to the Foreign Office not to approve security clearance for Lord Mandelson prior to his confirmation as ambassador to the US.
However, while speaking to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee this week, Sir Olly denied seeing an explicit recommendation. He testified that he received only a verbal briefing which characterized the UKSV’s position as “borderline” and “leaning towards recommending that clearance be denied.”
Investigation Into Sir Olly’s Dismissal
An investigation is now underway to determine if Sir Olly was given the correct information before he approved the peer’s security clearance.
Retired judge Sir Adrian Fulford is conducting a review of the process. The inquiry will specifically examine whether a briefing provided by Collard correctly summarized the views of the vetting team.
The findings of this review will be crucial in determining whether Sir Keir Starmer was justified in the decision to sack Sir Olly last week.
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