Sir Olly Robbins, the former head of the Foreign Office, has given evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee that paints a damning picture of cronyism and cynicism within Sir Keir Starmer's Downing Street operation. His testimony, delivered on Tuesday, centred on the vetting scandal surrounding Peter Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the US and revealed attempts to bypass security checks.
Robbins told MPs that the Cabinet Office had sought to exclude Mandelson from security vetting, while No 10's private office exerted constant pressure to fast-track his appointment. He described a “strong expectation” that Mandelson needed to be in post “as quickly as humanly possibly”, warning that the political fallout of blocking the appointment—already announced publicly—would have been catastrophic.
Further revelations included an attempt by No 10 to pressure the Foreign Office into finding an ambassadorial role for Lord Matthew Doyle, Starmer's former director of communications, at a time when top diplomats faced redundancy due to restructuring. Robbins said he was under “strict instructions” not to inform then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy about the demand, adding: “I felt very uncomfortable about that.” Doyle, who later had the Labour whip withdrawn over his support for a convicted paedophile, was ultimately made a peer.
The testimony raises serious questions about the prime minister's judgement, as Robbins noted that Starmer was warned of the risks of Mandelson's appointment through Cabinet Office checks but pushed it through anyway. The former mandarin also suggested that some in the Cabinet Office questioned the need to vet Mandelson at all.
Robbins' evidence, which he said may only scratch the surface of the “murky depths of cronyism”, has led to accusations that Starmer's government is run by a “small, self-serving elite”. Critics on the Labour back benches have echoed this sentiment, while the revelations have fuelled concerns about a toxic culture in Downing Street that could hasten the government's demise.
