B

Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 17 March 2026

Debate

Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address Motion

Contribution

My Lords, following the comment from my noble friend, and as I mentioned before, the vetting process is not really the issue here. We have Members of this House who are former diplomats and ambassadors, and it is very rare in my recollection that we have had any issues with those who have taken up posts abroad on our behalf. To widen this discussion into codes of conduct for Members in the future and how we must now move towards different vetting procedures is obfuscation. The points raised by my noble friend Lady Finn on the Front Bench are the questions we need answered. The hub of this matter is that we have a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who knowingly appointed Peter Mandelson, who had remained friends with a convicted paedophile, to represent us in one of the most key posts as ambassador to the United States of America. So, my question to the noble Baroness on the Front Bench is: given the reality that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom clearly has no judgment and that to obfuscate and try to blame everyone else is really inappropriate, will he, on this issue, stand down, because clearly his judgment is lost?

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