Former foreign office permanent secretary Philip Barton appeared before MPs in parliament on Tuesday. (Alamy) 4 min read46 min The former head civil servant in the Foreign Office has told MPs that Downing Street showed an “uninterested” attitude towards the security vetting of Lord Mandelson. Speaking to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday morning, Sir Philip Barton also said he felt at the time of Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US that it “could become a problem” given the peer’s links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Barton, who left his post shortly after Labour entered government, said there was pressure from No 10 to complete Mandelson’s appointment as soon as possible, but sought to stress that there was no pressure on the “substance” of Mandelson’s vetting. Asked whether he would agree with his successor in the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins, who last week told the same committee that No 10 was “dismissive” about Mandelson’s vetting, Barton said: “I wouldn’t use the word dismissive, the word I would use is uninterested.” He said that there was …