PM's ex-chief of staff says he doesn't recognise claims about his behaviour

PM's ex-chief of staff says he doesn't recognise claims about his behaviour31 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleRichard Wheeler,Political reporterandNick Eardley,Political correspondentGetty ImagesFormer chief of staff Morgan McSweeney is due to give evidence to MPs next weekMorgan McSweeney has said he does not recognise descriptions in the media about his behaviour while serving as Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff.Speaking at security conference in Ukraine, McSweeney said he found it "strange reading about a character with the same name as mine sometimes", as he spoke publicly for the first time about his departure from No 10 over Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador.He expressed regret over his decision to advise Sir Keir to appoint Lord Mandelson, but declined to discuss the issue in detail ahead of giving evidence to MPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee next week.McSweeney is likely to be asked by the committee about whether he put pressure on civil servants to speed up Lord Mandelson's vetting.In his resignation statement in February, McSweeney said he did not oversee the vetting but wanted to take "full responsibility" for advising the prime minister to appoint the peer.Lord Mandelson was given security clearance for the role despite concerns being raised by vetting officials.Former senior Foreign Office civil servant Sir Olly Robbins this week accused No 10 of a "dismissive" attitude towards the process, a claim Downing Street has denied.Lord Mandelson was sacked by Sir Keir in September last year after new information came to light about the depth of his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Key evidence from sacked official at heart of Mandelson vetting rowKey points from Starmer's Mandelson statementPM's chief aide McSweeney quits over Mandelson rowMcSweeney, appearing at the Kyiv Security Forum on Thursday, was asked about reports on his beh...