Former top civil servant Olly Robbins has acknowledged that government officials considered withholding sensitive vetting documents concerning Peter Mandelson from parliament. Robbins, who was sacked by Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week, confirmed the debate during a committee hearing on Tuesday.
Responding to a question from Labour MP Alan Gemmell about an alleged cover-up, Robbins said there had been a “debate” among senior officials across multiple departments over whether to share Mandelson’s vetting file with parliament. He described the file as existing in a “hermetically sealed box” and warned that opening it could have “damaging and chilling implications for UK national security”.
The admission risks inflaming tensions with parliament, which in February passed a motion requiring the release of “all papers” relevant to Mandelson’s appointment. Robbins said the wording of the motion was “a bit inconclusive” about what was required regarding vetting documents, leading to a “live conversation” among officials at the Cabinet Office, Foreign Office and other departments.
Lord Beamish, chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), said he took “a dim view” of any attempt to withhold documents. He welcomed the Cabinet Office’s decision to ultimately share the files with the committee. Robbins confirmed that the Cabinet Office eventually opened its safe and released the document, though he said he would have preferred they did not.
The debate raises questions about whether Darren Jones, the prime minister’s chief secretary, misled the public when he denied the Guardian’s report that officials considered withholding the documents. Jones had said on the BBC’s Today programme that the claim was “not true”.
