What did Morgan McSweeney and Philip Barton tell MPs about Mandelson’s vetting?

Key takeaways from appearance at select committee of PM’s former chief of staff and former Foreign Office chief

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Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister’s former chief of staff, gave his first public appearance at a high-stakes hearing of the foreign affairs select committee to be grilled on the appointment – and vetting – of the disgraced US ambassador Peter Mandelson. He was preceded by the former Foreign Office chief Philip Barton, the man who oversaw the early formal process for Mandelson’s appointment. Here’s what we learned.