‘Thrown under the bus’: Robbins to defend himself over Mandelson vetting
Sir Olly Robbins is set to mount a defence of his decision to approve Mandelson’s appointment to Washington after allies accused Starmer of scapegoating him and throwing him “under the bus”.
The prime minister sacked the head of the Foreign Office on Thursday night before accusing him of an “unforgivable” failure to warn him that Mandelson had failed his security vetting.
Friends and allies of Robbins have now said he would launch a robust defence of his actions during an appearance before the foreign affairs select committee on Tuesday and that he did “nothing wrong”, according to reports in The Times.
One accused Starmer of having put Robbins in an invidious position by announcing Mandelson’s appointment before he had undergone security vetting.
Another said Robbins was furious at the way he had been treated and would make it clear to MPs that he would have been in breach of his obligations as a civil servant if he had informed the prime minister that Mandelson had failed his initial vetting.
“Thrown under the bus”
Lord Simon McDonald also claimed Robbins was “thrown under the bus” after Mandelson’s failed vetting came to light.
The former permanent secretary in the Foreign Office said Robbins was a “scalp” for No 10, with the office being blamed for clearing the peer.
The former Whitehall mandarin told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think this is the biggest crisis in the diplomatic service since I joined it in 1982.”
“This story broke on Thursday morning in a piece in The Guardian, within the news cycle Olly Robbins had been required to resign.
“This shows to me that Number 10 wanted a scalp and they wanted it quickly and I cannot see that there was any process, any fairness, any giving him the chance to set out his case, and that feels to me wrong.”
McDonald also took issue with the word “failed” being used to describe the process result, claiming “these things tend to be murkier than that”, with the process having “hesitations” and “imperfections” which don’t amount to failure.
He also confirmed the foreign office needs a new head and “needs it quickly”.
Accusing Robbins
However other senior civil servants have accused Robbins of trying to suppress the document that showed he had gone against the advice of UK Security Vetting (UKSV) and allowed Mandelson to take up the role as ambassador to the US.
Downing Street also released a document showing civil servants discussing whether Starmer had been “incorrectly” provided with assurances about the vetting process that resulted in him “inadvertently” misleading parliament.
Starmer also confirmed he would appear before MPs on Monday and set out “all the relevant facts”, offering “full transparency full accountability”.
Kemi Badenoch challenged the claim that no one in Downing Street was aware that Mandelson failed his vetting.
She said: “Is he saying that they knew and didn’t tell him? If so, does this not demonstrate that Keir Starmer is not in control of his own office?”
Labour MPs also questioned Starmer last Wednesday after learning of the failures.