Pressure is piling on the prime minister over the Mandelson scandal ahead of the local elections
Sir Olly Robbins, former head civil servant at the Foreign Office, appeared before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee today to give evidence on Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador.
Sir Keir Starmer fired Robbins last week, after it emerged that the foreign office had granted Mandelson security clearance despite him failing the vetting process. Mandelson was fired from his ambassador position last September after it was revealed that he had had close ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Here are 5 things we learned from Robbins’ appearance at the select committee hearing.
- Robbins did not tell the prime minister about Mandelson’s failed vetting
Starmer has consistently insisted that he was not told that Lord Mandelson failed the vetting process carried out by the Foreign Office. Robbins confirmed that he did not tell the prime minister that Mandelson had failed the vetting process.
He told MPs today: “You are not supposed to share the findings and reports of UKSV other than in the exceptional circumstances where doing so allows for the specific mitigation of risk.”
Starmer and No 10 say that there is nothing to stop officials telling the prime minister about the recommendations made by security officials even if they are not involved in making the decision.
- Starmer announced Mandelson’s appointment before he was vetted.
Starmer announced Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador in December 2024, before the Foreign Office had completed its vetting process.
Robbins told the committee: “I regret that this process was not done before [the] announcement”. However, he said it would not have changed his decision if it had been.
He also noted that Mandelson had already been given access to the Foreign Office building as well as “highly classified briefing on a case-by-case basis” prior to vetting being carried out.
The prime minister said that vetting usually happens after the appointment. Starmer told MPs on Monday: “For a direct ministerial appointment, it was usual for security vetting to happen after the appointment but before the individual starting in post. That was the process in place at the time.”
- ‘Not a given’ Mandelson would be vetted at all
Robbins said there was a “dismissive approach” to vetting at No 10.
The sacked civil servant said: “I’m afraid I don’t think, at the point of his appointment and for days thereafter, it was actually a given that he would be vetted. He also said that the position taken by the Cabinet Office was that Mandelson’s status meant “vetting might be unnecessary”.
- Constant pressure on foreign office to get Mandelson to Washington
“The focus was on getting Mandelson out to Washington quickly,” Robbins said, adding: “Throughout January, honestly, my office [and] the foreign secretary’s office were under constant pressure. There was an atmosphere of constant chasing.”
- Starmer asked Robbins to ‘potentially’ get diplomat job for his top spin doctor
During the select committee today, Robbins told MPs that No 10 asked him to “potentially” find an ambassadorial job for Matthew Doyle, who at the time was the prime minister’s director of communications.
Robbins said he had felt “quite uncomfortable” about the request, and that he was told not to discuss the possible appointment with the then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.