Fact check: Guidance said ‘conditional appointments’ can be made before vetting

Discussing the vetting of Lord Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to the US, Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander told BBC Breakfast: “That was actually the process for the appointment of political appointees to ambassadors that we inherited as a Government.”

He added: “We have already changed that approach because, frankly, the vetting should precede the appointment, but what we inherited was a system at the time whereby an announcement could be made followed by the vetting process being undertaken.”

Evaluation

Guidance around national security vetting from 2022 states “conditional appointments may be made” pending completion of the process.

A former cabinet secretary told the Foreign Affairs Committee in November 2025 that the “normal thing” when making appointments from outside the Civil Service is for security clearance to be carried out after the appointment but before a contract is signed.

The Government announced in March 2026 that it was making reforms to the appointment and vetting process. It confirmed that diplomatic appointments will no longer be announced until security vetting has been completed.

The facts

What is the vetting process?

Ambassador appointments are subject to national security vetting, which is carried out by the United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV), a government agency.

The Government’s personnel security controls guidance explains there are four levels of national security vetting clearance – an accreditation check; a counter terrorist check; security check; and developed vetting. The guidance was updated in 2022, before Labour entered government.

It adds developed vetting is for posts which require “frequent and uncontrolled access to top secret assets or require any access to top secret codeword material”.

The guidance also states that “subject to a risk assessment, conditional appointments may be made, pending satisfactory completion of the (vetting) process.”

In November 2025, then Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Olly Robbins and then cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald were quizzed by the Foreign Affairs Committee about the appointment of Lord Mandelson.

Sir Olly told the committee that Lord Mandelson did not hold national security vetting when he was appointed. He added the appointment was made subject to obtaining security clearance, as is “normally the case” with external appointments.

Sir Chris also told the committee that the “normal thing” when making appointments from outside the Civil Service is for security clearance to happen after the appointment but “before the person signs a contract and takes up post”.

In March 2026, the Government announced measures to “strengthen” appointment and vetting processes. It said the Government will “review the National Security Vetting system, including lessons learned from Peter Mandelson’s developed vetting”.

It added: “The Government has already confirmed that, in future, diplomatic appointments will not be announced until security vetting has been completed.”

What we know about Lord Mandelson’s vetting

Sir Chris told the Foreign Affairs Committee in November that Lord Mandelson’s relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was raised in a due diligence check, which looked at open source information and was carried out by the Cabinet Office. He added there was then a judgment about whether to make the appointment or not.

Documents released by the Government show the due diligence check was conducted on Lord Mandelson on December 4 2024, which flagged the reputational risk of his relationship with Epstein.

His appointment as ambassador was then announced on December 20 2024.

When discussing Lord Mandelson’s national security vetting, Sir Olly told the committee that a provision was used which prioritised his clearance so it was “faster” than normal. He added: “That was not because the process was different; it was because we advanced him up the queue.”

The Guardian reported that Lord Mandelson had then failed his developed vetting in late January 2025. It reported the Foreign Office overruled the decision.

Documents show Lord Mandelson’s formal offer of employment did not come until January 30 and his employment started on February 3. The offer stated the appointment was conditional on him holding a current security clearance, adding his security clearance had been “confirmed by Vetting Unit”.

The links

Post on X (archived post and video)

Institute for Government – Government security vetting (archived)

Gov.uk – United Kingdom Security Vetting, about us (archived)

Gov.uk – HMG Personnel Security Controls (archived)

Gov.uk – Sir Oliver Robbins KCMG CB (archived)

Gov.uk – Sir Chris Wormald KCB (archived)

Foreign Affairs Committee – Monday 3 November 2025

Gov.uk – Ministers order overhaul of Whitehall standards regime to tighten appointment and vetting process (archived)

Gov.uk – Part of a Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 4 February 2026 relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as HM Ambassador to Washington (archived)

Gov.uk – Appointment of Lord Mandelson as the next British Ambassador to the United States of America (archived)

The Guardian – Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision (archived)