Political Editor, The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/profile/pippacrerar
Pippa Crerar
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Former UK ambo *was* asked to take steps to avoid commercial conflicts of interest (but separate issue).
Foreign affairs committee now likely to ask whether they were misled about pre-appointments process - by @kiranstacey.bsky.social @direthoughts.com & me
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Pippa Crerar
EXCL: Huge tranche of Mandelson files being published on Monday shows no record of national security mitigations before he started in Washington.
Security officials were sufficiently concerned they recommended he was denied clearance - but sources say Mandelson was *not* asked to take mitigations.
When we revealed last month UKSV had concluded Mandelson be denied clearance, big question was "why?"
Among concerns noted incl:
- his links to China’s minister of finance, Lan Fo’an, sanctions-hit Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and ex Israeli military intelligence general Tamir Hayman
- v close relationship with a fourth individual, who is British, that could be compromising
- £1m loan which Mandelson invested in an Israeli startup - but doesn't seem to have been declared
- he appeared naive about the risk that historical relationships with other individuals could be exploited
