Security Vetting

Lord Clarke of Nottingham Excerpts

Monday 20th April 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

The Prime Minister said that he made a wrong decision, but I have to say to the noble and learned Lord that the number of people who praised the decision at the time and then criticised it later is quite surprising. Yes, all evidence shows now that this was the wrong candidate for the job, but part of that would have been exposed had this process been more open and transparent for Ministers. If they had had more information, we may have seen a different outcome.

[Lord Clarke of Nottingham (Con)]

My Lords, the totally new twist to this long-running saga is the discovery that the Foreign Office officials failed to give any information about this failed vetting to their ministerial masters, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary. So far, I find this as mystifying as everybody else. Surely by this afternoon, Olly Robbins and other officials have been asked to give their explanation for this incredible behaviour. We cannot do anything or know where we go next on this extraordinary feature of this multifaceted case until we know what on earth induced these senior and responsible civil servants to do anything as irresponsible as to withhold this from the Prime Minister. As the noble Baroness the Leader and the Prime Minister are giving Statements today, can we be told—because they must have asked this question and had an answer—what the answers are and tell us what explanation and what reason Olly Robbins and the FCDO have been giving for completely withholding this information?

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord. He is right. When you see the multiple opportunities to inform the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary that the recommendation from UKSV was that the vetting would not be granted, it is extraordinary that it was not passed on to Ministers. The reason for the Statement today is that the Prime Minister said he wanted, as soon as he had more information, to present it to the House at the earliest opportunity, and he has done that.

I understand that Olly Robbins is giving evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee tomorrow and there will be information available after that. I do not want to paraphrase—like the noble Lord, I am looking at the papers and reading it—but I think he thought he was doing the right thing. I have concerns that his interpretation of the law may not have been right, because it seems extraordinary that he could withhold information of this seriousness from Ministers.

The very reason and the purpose for such a process of vetting is that those making the decisions have the information they need on which to make those decisions, and if they are not given that information, I think most people will just find it extraordinary. There would be, I think, a natural assumption that when you go through this process, those who are making the decisions have access and information provided to them. If any red flags were raised by the vetting process, they should have been provided to Ministers. But there will be the opportunity; there is a Select Committee tomorrow, and we may hear more about this.