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

6 hours ago

Richard Wheeler, Political reporter and

Nick Eardley, Political correspondent

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Former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney is due to give evidence to MPs next week

Morgan 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.

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.

Former senior Foreign…