MPs hear how question of pressure is at heart of Mandelson scandal

The latest two witnesses to testify to parliament over Peter Mandelson’s appointment had plenty to offer headline writers. Philip Barton, former top civil servant in the Foreign Office, described Mandelson’s links with Jeffrey Epstein as a ‘toxic hot potato’. Morgan McSweeney, former chief adviser to the prime minister, called the revelation of Mandelson’s relationship with the convicted sex offender a ‘knife through my soul’. Both men addressed the core of the scandal: whether Downing Street’s pressure influenced the Foreign Office’s decision to grant Mandelson security clearance despite vetting concerns.

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