Ex-FCDO chief tells MPs he had concerns over Mandelson’s Epstein links

The former Foreign Office chief has said he was concerned about Peter Mandelson’s links to Jeffery Epstein – and said there was “absolutely” pressure from Downing Street over the pace of vetting. Giving evidence to the foreign affairs select committee, the former Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Philip Barton said Number 10 seemed “uninterested” in the vetting process around Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, and said there were no avenues for him to express his concerns. Asked if he was under pressure to get the vetting done quickly, Barton said: “Absolutely … I don’t think anyone could have been any doubt in the department working on this, that there was pressure to get everything done as quickly as possible .” But Barton denied that he had received any phone call from Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney – long rumoured – which had asked him to “just fucking approve it”. Barton, who left the Foreign Office in January, said he was unaware of Number 10’s intention to appoint Mandelson until a day before the announcement. “I wasn’t involved, I wasn’t told a decision was coming,” he told the committee. McSweeney is expected to give evidence later on Tuesday morning. Barton told the committee he believed his concerns about Epstein were shared by the national security adviser, Jonathan Powell. But he said the “die was cast” and that there was no possibility of advising against the appointment. …