Outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of breaking the law in a bid to shift the blame for the Mandelson scandal. The scandal led to the resignation of Mandelson from the post of US Ambassador, after further information about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein came to light. That led to months of fury in Westminster, with the Prime Minister facing repeated questions about what he knew and when. It also threw into doubt the vetting process which took place to grant the disgraced peer access to sensitive documents ahead of his appointment to the plum Washington posting.
Senior Civil Servants Forced Out
Senior civil servants were forced out of their jobs - such as foreign office chief Sir Olly Robbins - over the scandal. Sir Olly is now taking legal action against the government, for what he claims was an unfair dismissal. Even members of Sir Keir's own inner circle found themselves out of a job, as the embattled Prime Minister fought to remain in Number 10.
Fresh Accusations from Former Civil Service Head
Now, fresh accusations have been levelled against the outgoing Prime Minister, who will cease to be the top dog on 20 July after Andy Burnham takes over. Sir Simon Case, the former Head of the Civil Service, told LBC's Andrew Marr that he feels Sir Keir made a 'big mistake' in giving Sir Olly the boot, and called the dismissal illegal.
Speaking on Tonight with Andrew Marr on LBC, Lord Case revealed what Whitehall apparatchiks really thought of the Prime Minister. The peer said that civil servants saw the sacking of Sir Olly as 'blame shifting' by the Prime Minister as he fought to save his own skin and deflect criticism for the handling of the Mandelson scandal.
Case: 'That's My View' on Illegality
And when asked whether he felt the move had been illegal, he responded: 'That’s my view. I’m no legal expert on this, but my plain reading of the various texts says that Keir Starmer made a big mistake both in the legal process, but actually, just morally, Olly Robbins is an outstanding and long-serving public servant... The country faces huge challenges, and we need all the best people in the team as you as you can get. And Olly Robbins is one of those people.'
Case told the veteran broadcaster that he hoped the incoming Prime Minister, Makerfield MP Andy Burnham, would bring back Sir Olly: 'I hope that’s what he’ll do. And I think that’s not just my view about this process. I think it was last week the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons, chaired by Emily Thornberry, published their report on the whole Mandelson affair, and they said in relation to Olly’s removal, it seems to have been taken without full due process and establishment of the facts.'
Blame Shifting Felt by Civil Servants
And when asked if he believed that Sir Olly being booted out was an attempt by the Prime Minister to pass on the blame of the Mandelson scandal to someone else, Lord Case said: 'It certainly felt like that at the time. I’m sure in the years to come we’ll get more from Keir Starmer’s memoirs. I think it felt mostly actually and crucially to other civil servants and possibly others, that this was blame shifting. Being Prime Minister is an impossible job, and you need a good team around you. And when the whole team sees a Prime Minister firing and blaming other people, well, people start to wonder, am I next?'
