“Unacceptable delays” in the security vetting of government staff may have resulted in an increase in national security risks, a select committee of MPs said.
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published a report on Friday, accusing the Cabinet Office of failing to “get a grip” on national security vetting since it took over United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) in April 2020.
Increased demand after the end of COVID-19 lockdowns and insufficient staffing levels mean the UKSV team was taking longer than expected to process many of the cases and had to put off the re-vetting of staff to manage the workload, the report said….