Sacked Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins has claimed the government tried to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador without vetting.
On Tuesday morning, the former FCDO Permanent Under-Secretary gave evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee about Mandelson’s vetting process.
He told the committee Number 10 had a “dismissive approach” to Lord Mandelson’s vetting and spoke of a pressure to get Mandelson into the post as quickly as possible.
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Robbins said: “I don’t think at the point of his appointment and for days thereafter it was actually a given he would be vetted.”
Referencing documents released this week about the process, Robbins said there was “no stipulation from Number 10 that he should be vetted.”
He continued: “The welcome that was sent to him immediately afterwards doesn’t say, ‘welcome to the Foreign Office, subject to vetting.’
“The announcement put on the 20th December says that he will be ‘out earlier in the new year,’ it does not say ‘subject to vetting.'”
When committee chair Emily Thornberry pointed out that Mandelson’s contract of employment does say ‘subject to vetting,’ Robbins replied: “The contract issued to him after he was vetted says that he must maintain his clearance.”
Also during his appearance before the committee, Robbins said there was a “very, very strong expectation” from Number 10 that Mandelson be “in post and in America as quickly as humanly possible.”
He said the Number 10 private office wanted “all this done at pace and Mandelson in post before [Trump’s] inauguration.”
Robbins spoke of a “constant chasing” from Number 10 about the process and claimed there had been a “genuinely dismissive attitude” to Mandelson’s vetting clearance.
Robbins went on to say there was a “atmosphere of pressure” from Number 10 that Mandelson should be appointed.
In a post on X, the Mirror’s Kevin Maguire said described Robbins as “utterly devastating” and suggested it could be disastrous for Starmer’s tenure.
Addressing the House of Commons on Monday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed there had been a deliberate decision from officials not to tell him about Mandelson’s vetting.
He reiterated that he knew nothing about the process.