MPs rejected a Conservative party proposal for the prime minister to face a parliamentary inquiry into his appointment of Peter Mandelson

Q: Was there pressure on you to approve Mandelson’s vetting?

This is a reference to the claim that Keir Starmer misled MPs last week when he talked about no pressure being placed on the Foreign Office.

One is during my tenure. I was not aware of any pressure on the substance of the Mandelson DV case.

Question two was there pressure? Absolutely. And I’ve described it. And I also have seen what the Foreign Office said to you last night. [See 8.50am.]

I didn’t receive any direct calls from the chief of staff during my time as permanent undersecretary. So there was no call at all. My interactions were always when others were present in a general meeting, there weren’t very many of those either …

I’ve really racked my brains and I cannot recall Morgan McSweeney swearing in a meeting at me, or indeed just in general. So I don’t see any substance in that part of it and I think it’s important I say that this morning, given how many people have come to think that might be true.

TOKYO, April 28 — A Japanese prosecutor who publicly accused her boss of rape said on Tuesday she will resign after her office rejected a request for an independent probe into harassment within the organisation.

Very few women in Japan speak out about sexual assault but the prosecutor, who uses the pseudonym Hikari, came forward in 2024 to accuse Osaka’s then top prosecutor of raping her six years earlier.

Kentaro Kitagawa, who retired after serving as head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor’s Office, was arrested and admitted the assault but later withdrew his statement, saying the sex was consensual.

“I feel it’s hopeless to return to work,” Hikari, who has been on leave since before coming forward, told AFP.

“So this is a painful decision I have to make to protect my life,” she said, adding that she will submit a resignation letter on April 30.

Hikari has made a request to the justice ministry and the prosecutors’ office that a third-party panel be set up to investigate cases involving others in the legal profession, and to implement measures to prevent harassment.

She has previously said she was “certain that there are other instances of harassment and additional offences” besides those involving her.

But the prosecutors’ office said authorities would “refrain from responding” as Hikari also filed a suit against the state last month, seeking compensation.

Public records show that 21 people at prosecutors’ offices have been disciplined for sexual violence in the past 16 years, according to Hikari.

She said people close to Kitagawa, especially an assistant prosecutor – whom Hikari says is his lover – have spread malicious rumours.

These included identifying the victim, whose name had not been made public, and claiming she had been attracted to Kitagawa, consented to sex and was sober.

Hikari was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and has been seeing a psychiatrist.

She filed a criminal complaint against the assistant prosecutor in 2025, but the Osaka prosecutor’s office dismissed it, only imposing a reprimand.

Hikari said she planned to file a petition with the prosecutorial review commission on Thursday.

Hikari has said she was not used to drinking strong alcohol and lost her memory halfway through an office gathering in 2018.

The next thing she knew, she said, she was in Kitagawa’s home and was being raped.

Hikari kept quiet after it happened, as Kitagawa had pleaded with her not to go public, saying it would be a damaging scandal for the organisation and threatening to harm himself, she said.

“It fills me with such bitterness that I, the victim, am forced to resign, while people who commit harassment continue working as if nothing had happened,” she said.

“I will keep on pushing for change at the prosecutor’s office so that it will truly serve the public.” — AFP

GEORGE TOWN, April 28 — Talks between the Penang government and Waterfall Cafe have failed to produce a settlement, bringing to an end a decades-long dispute that has persisted since 1990, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said today.

He said the state had repeatedly engaged all relevant parties in an effort to reach a fair and practical solution, but all negotiation channels had ultimately failed.

“In principle, all active negotiation channels that were opened failed to reach a resolution,” he said in a statement.

He said all notices directing the premises to be vacated, issued by the Northeast district land administrator, including an eviction notice on January 4, 2024 were not complied with.

“Despite outstanding rental arrears, the state government through the Northeast District and Land Office (PDTTL) offered several reasonable options to Waterfall Cafe to relocate and continue operations,” he said.

He said the relocation offer included two units at the multi-storey car park building, the commercial plaza, for the future Penang Hill cable car project, as well as a temporary site throughout the construction period.

He said the cafe owners rejected the offers without clear justification.

“It should also be noted that during a coordination meeting on June 19 in 2023 chaired by the then Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy, it was agreed that Waterfall Cafe would relocate and settle its outstanding rental arrears,” he pointed out.

He said the commitment was not fulfilled.

Chow said the first eviction notice was issued on January 4 in 2024 and is followed by several rounds of discussions from February 19 in 2024.

“The final notice was issued on April 15 this year before enforcement action was carried out today,” he said.

The cafe, located near the entrance of the Botanic Gardens, was demolished by the authorities earlier today.

Ian Collard tells MPs he had not seen UKSV assessment summary before briefing Olly Robbins on clearance

A top Foreign Office security official who played a key role in the granting of Peter Mandelson’s vetting clearance “felt pressure to deliver a rapid outcome” because of contacts from Downing Street, MPs have been told.

In testimony relayed to parliament via the Foreign Office (FCDO), Ian Collard said he had not seen the assessment summary produced by the vetting agency when he gave an oral briefing to Olly Robbins, the department’s former permanent secretary. Instead, Collard had received an oral briefing from a member of the FCDO’s personnel security team.