Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused former Foreign Office permanent secretary Olly Robbins of deliberately obstructing the truth over the security vetting of Lord Mandelson, the failed candidate for Washington ambassador. In a high-stakes statement to parliament, Starmer admitted his appointment of Mandelson was a fundamental mistake but blamed the Foreign Office for a 'staggering' failure to inform him of the vetting decision.
Starmer told MPs that the vetting information had been handed to the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), which is expected to assess it before public release. The Guardian understands this includes a summary document detailing Mandelson's personal life, financial and business dealings, and the recommendation that he had failed vetting. The ISC is expected to push for further information, including an audit trail of who knew what and when.
During a dramatic day in Westminster, it emerged that Robbins did not inform the then cabinet secretary, Chris Wormald, about the vetting failure even when Wormald was conducting a review last September. Simon Case, Wormald's predecessor, had advised Starmer to complete Mandelson's vetting before appointment but was ignored. Robbins overturned the UK Security Vetting decision to fail Mandelson just 24 hours later, and the Foreign Office has since been stripped of this power.
Starmer claimed he had not misled the Commons, despite admitting his previous version of events was wrong. He said a deliberate decision was taken to withhold material from him on repeated occasions. His position puts him on a collision course with Robbins, who is due to appear before the Commons foreign affairs committee on Tuesday, with Downing Street braced for potential new revelations.
