LONDON — Ian Collard, the Foreign Office's chief property and security officer, will submit written answers instead of appearing before the parliamentary foreign affairs committee on Tuesday. Foreign affairs committee chair Emily Thornberry had requested that Collard give oral evidence, but confirmed on Saturday that he would respond in writing instead.

"To be clear, I am satisfied by the reasons behind Ian Collard not giving oral evidence before the FAC at the moment. We have therefore asked for his evidence in writing," Thornberry said. "If we have further questions, we will consider at that point whether we need to ask him to give evidence orally, or whether a further written statement is sufficient."

Thornberry asked Collard to detail his recollection of a meeting concerning Peter Mandelson's security vetting and to state whether it aligns with evidence given by Olly Robbins, with the written response due by 5pm on Monday. She also asked whether Collard felt under pressure to deliver Mandelson's clearance after Robbins described an atmosphere of pressure and constant chasing from Downing Street.

Further questions put to Collard included whether he had seen the UK Security Vetting cover form that ticked two red boxes recommending clearance be denied or withdrawn, whether anyone in the Foreign Office, Downing Street or the Cabinet Office asked him for advice on whether Mandelson required vetting as a member of the House of Lords, and whether he advised on how Mandelson should be treated between his appointment announcement and his security clearance coming through. Collard, a former ambassador to Lebanon and Panama, was appointed the Foreign Office's chief property and security officer in March 2023.

Robbins, the Foreign Office's top civil servant, was forced out of his post last week after his decision to fail Mandelson's security vetting was overruled by his department. Robbins said Collard briefed him that Mandelson's vetting findings deemed the peer a borderline case and leaned towards recommending that clearance be denied. He also said that when he took over in January 2025, Mandelson was already being granted access to highly classified briefings on a case-by-case basis without his security clearance being confirmed.

Keir Starmer said he would not have appointed Mandelson as ambassador to Washington had he known the outcome of the developed vetting process. He said he faced only the "everyday pressure of government" to clear the 2024 appointment. "There's pressure – 'Can we get this done quickly?' – which is not an unusual pressure. That is the everyday pressure of government," Starmer said. He also said Robbins "was really clear in his mind that wasn't pressure that was put on him" regarding any attempt to disregard the security vetting element.