Sir Olly Robbins, the sacked senior civil servant, has disclosed that he faced “constant pressure” from Downing Street to expedite Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the United States. In evidence to the foreign affairs select committee, Robbins said the Cabinet Office had urged the Foreign Office to bypass normal vetting procedures, but the department resisted and the process went ahead.
Robbins admitted he overturned a recommendation from UK Security Vetting (UKSV) to deny Mandelson clearance without seeing the full report, which rated the risk as “high” and concluded “clearance denied”. He said he was not shown the form or told all the details of national security concerns.
The former permanent secretary confirmed that officials had considered withholding sensitive documents about the vetting from parliament, a claim denied last week by Cabinet Office minister Darren Jones. Robbins also revealed that Number 10 had asked the Foreign Office to find a senior diplomatic role for the prime minister’s communications chief, Matthew Doyle, and instructed him not to inform then foreign secretary David Lammy.
Robbins said Downing Street took a “dismissive” attitude to security vetting, and Mandelson was granted access to the Foreign Office building and classified briefings before clearance was issued. He told MPs: “I walked into a situation in which there was already a very, very strong expectation… that he needed to be in post and in America as quickly as humanly possible.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer later defended Robbins as a “man of integrity” but said he had made an “error of judgment”. Starmer’s spokesperson denied No 10 was dismissive of vetting, drawing a distinction between “asking for updates” and being dismissive.
