The Foreign Office’s top civil servant is leaving his post after his department did not inform the prime minister that Lord Mandelson had failed security vetting for the role of US ambassador.
The BBC understands Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper lost confidence in Sir Olly Robbins and was effectively sacked after a Guardian investigation revealed Mandelson had not been security cleared.
The PM is facing calls to resign amid claims he misled MPs when he told them “full due process” had been followed.
Senior minister Darren Jones said Sir Keir had not been told of the vetting recommendation until Tuesday this week, had not misled MPs and would not be resigning.
Lord Mandelson was announced as the UK’s ambassador to the US in December 2024, before in-depth vetting had been carried out, and formally took up the role on 10 February 2025.
Just seven months later he was sacked over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On Thursday, the government confirmed the Foreign Office went against the recommendation of the Cabinet Office’s security vetting agency and allowed Lord Mandelson to take up the post.
By 11pm the same day, it was announced Sir Olly was leaving his post.
On Friday morning, Foreign Affairs select committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry invited Sir Olly to give evidence on Tuesday next week, the second time he will have been quizzed about his involvement in the Mandelson scandal.
Labour MP Dame Emily told Sky News: “Perhaps he can tell us… was it his own idea, or was he being leant on elsewhere?
“Or was he, being a civil servant, was he getting direction from elsewhere, and if so, by whom?”
Dame Emily also pointed to the careful language in a letter she received from Cooper on the vetting process, which noted the vetting process had “concluded” with clearance being granted.
“It says he was vetted, and it says he was appointed, but it doesn’t say it was overridden… I’m saying is that, you know, people have basically been telling us half the story,” she added.
Kemi Badenoch said the Sir Keir and ministers like Darren Jones were “taking the public for fools” as she questioned why Foreign Office officials would overrule security vetting procedures.
The Tory leader told the BBC: “They must think that everybody is stupid. Why would officials overrule an appointment of a politician?
“Let’s remember, Peter Mandelson was not a civil servant who they were covering up for, he was a Labour Party member who had been brought in from outside.
“Why would officials say, ‘Well he’s failed the security vetting, but let’s not tell the Prime Minister’, why would they do that? It just doesn’t make any sense.”
