The FBI and DOJ seized 13 websites posing as consulting firms that offered fake jobs to Americans, including security clearance holders, to obtain sensitive government information. The operation, linked to China's intelligence services, used fake identities and AI-generated photos.
The FBI has seized 13 fake consulting company domains used by Chinese intelligence services to target current and former US security clearance holders with AI-generated content. China denies the allegations, calling them slander.
MI5 warns Chinese spies are using job websites like LinkedIn to recruit UK government and military staff for sensitive information, posing as recruiters for fake jobs.
UK MPs are demanding clarity over missing documents related to Peter Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to Washington, with concerns raised about his vetting process and links to controversial figures.
Noida International Airport has appointed Nitu Samra as interim CEO after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) denied security clearance to Christoph Schnellmann because he is not an Indian national. Samra, previously chief financial officer, will serve until the board finalizes a new chief executive. The airport received its aerodrome license from DGCA in March but still needs BCAS approval for its security programme. A 2011 BCAS order mandates that the CEO of any greenfield Indian airport must be its security coordinator.
Two officials in Starmer's team suggested holding off naming a new ambassador until after Trump took office.
Sacked civil servant tells select committee of ‘pressure’ to give clearance and ‘dismissive’ attitude to vettingThe civil servant sacked by Keir Starmer has given a devastating account of his government, saying Downing Street put huge pressure on the civil service to approve the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador despite the concerns of vetting officials.Olly Robbins, the former top official at the Foreign Office, said No 10 took a “dismissive” attitude to vetting, and Mandelson was given access to the Foreign Office building and to “higher-classification briefings” before he was granted security clearance. Continue reading...
Sacked civil servant tells select committee of ‘pressure’ to give clearance and ‘dismissive’ attitude to vettingThe civil servant sacked by Keir Starmer has given a devastating account of his government, saying Downing Street put huge pressure on the civil service to approve the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador despite the concerns of vetting officials.Olly Robbins, the former top official at the Foreign Office, said No 10 took a “dismissive” attitude to vetting, and Mandelson was given access to the Foreign Office building and to “higher-classification briefings” before he was granted security clearance. Continue reading...
Sir Olly Robbins, sacked as Foreign Office boss last week, has accused Downing Street of a 'dismissive approach' to vetting during Lord Mandelson's appointment as UK ambassador to the US. In testimony to MPs, Sir Olly said he faced 'constant pressure' from No 10 to get Mandelson 'in post and in America as quickly as possible', despite UK Security Vetting recommending clearance be denied. Sir Keir Starmer has denied misleading Parliament, saying he was not informed of the vetting assessment results. The controversy has led to calls for the Prime Minister's resignation.
Sir Olly Robbins has defended his handling of Peter Mandelson's security clearance, revealing he was under constant pressure from No 10 to expedite the Labour peer's appointment to Washington. Robbins acknowledged regretting that the appointment was announced before vetting was completed, but insisted the decision to grant clearance was correct. Prime Minister Keir Starmer maintains he should have been told about UK Security Vetting's recommendation to deny clearance, and defended his decision to sack Robbins.
Sir Keir Starmer has defended his actions over Lord Mandelson's appointment as UK ambassador to the US, after it emerged the peer was given security clearance in January 2025 against official vetting recommendations. Mandelson was sacked seven months later over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer accused the Foreign Office of failing to inform him of vetting concerns and accused officials of a deliberate decision to withhold information from MPs.
A senior UK minister has criticised the Foreign Office for withholding information from senior ministers about a UKSV recommendation to deny Peter Mandelson development and clearance. The minister described it as beggaring belief that such information was not shared, stating it should have been available to Parliament and the British people.
Whitehall officials are weighing up ‘unprecedented’ disclosure of documents in security clearance scandalStarmer did not gamble with national security over Mandelson, says ministerMinisters are under growing pressure to share the documents from Peter Mandelson’s vetting process with the parliamentary committee tasked with deciding if they should be made public.In February, MPs passed a binding parliamentary motion, known as a humble address, requiring the government to publish “all papers” relating to Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US. Continue reading...
Keir Starmer appointed Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US in December 2024. UKSV, the Cabinet Office agency responsible for security vetting, concluded in late January 2025 that Mandelson should not receive Developed Vetting (DV) clearance required for frequent access to top-secret material. However, the Foreign Office overruled this decision and granted the clearance anyway, allowing Mandelson to take up the Washington post. A prior due diligence check by the Foreign Office's propriety and ethics team had warned of "general reputational risk" in the appointment. The reasons for UKSV's rejection have not been made public.
