Sacked Foreign Office head Sir Olly Robbins will today accused Sir Keir Starmer of "pressuring" the department into appointing Lord Mandelson.
Robbins is expected to use an appearance before the foreign affairs select committee to provide his version of events over the appointment of Lord Mandelson as US ambassador despite his links to Jeffrey Epstein and Chinese and Russian business interests - and the fact he failed security vetting.
The Times reports Robbins will tell the committee he was not given sight of the formal recommendation by UK Security Vetting (UKSV), advising Mandelson should not be given clearance.
He will say he was told verbally that Mandelson's case was "borderline" before concluding the "outstanding risks" could be mitigated.
But Robbins is also expected to talk about the "prevailing atmosphere" at the time, including the fact that Starmer chose to announce Mandelson's appointment before security vetting had been carried out.
Starmer made the announcement against the advice of then cabinet secretary Simon Case, and despite Sir Philip Barton, the previous permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, being opposed to the appointment.
Read the full story in The Times.