LONDON, April 21 - A former senior official at the foreign ministry told MPs on Tuesday that he was subject to "constant pressure" from the prime minister’s office to expedite the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States, complicating a political controversy that has intensified scrutiny of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Olly Robbins, who was removed from his role late last week after Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said they had lost confidence in him, gave testimony that largely corroborated aspects of Starmer’s public account while raising fresh questions about internal Whitehall dynamics.
Starmer has publicly said he was "wrong" to appoint Mandelson and has expressed regret. On Monday, the prime minister assigned responsibility to foreign ministry officials for not informing him that a security vetting body advised against the appointment. Robbins’ evidence to parliament on Tuesday supported Starmer’s statement that officials had told him Mandelson had been granted the necessary clearance, but Robbins also described a climate in which the appointment was being pushed forward as if it were already settled.
"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," Robbins told MPs, sometimes visibly upset. He said that during January 2025 his office and the foreign secretary’s office faced sustained pressure to move quickly, and that he had at times felt like a "scapegoat." He recounted "very frequent phone calls" from the prime minister’s private office and described an "atmosphere of constant chasing."
Robbins said that when he formally assumed his post on January 20, 2025, Mandelson’s appointment had already been announced, King Charles had approved it, the U.S. government had agreed, and Mandelson was being granted access to highly classified briefings on a case-by-case basis. Given those circumstances, Robbins said blocking the appointment would have risked damaging relations with the United States, and he therefore indicated he believed Mandelson had cleared vetting based on the information available at that time.
At the same time, Robbins explained that the unit responsible for security checks - known as UK Security Vetting - had regarded the case as borderline and had been leaning against granting developed vetting clearance, the highest level that permits access to top-secret material. Robbins said that the foreign ministry followed a longstanding practice of not sharing full vetting reports with ministers to safeguard candidates’ confidentiality, and he questioned whether Downing Street had wanted the foreign ministry to complete that developed vetting process at all.
Robbins’ testimony amplifies the pressure on Starmer, who still retains the widest parliamentary majority modern Labour has achieved after the 2024 election but now faces renewed calls to step down amid a scandal that has persisted for months. While some Labour critics are pushing for his resignation, party MPs have indicated they will not move immediately to remove him, noting the party faces significant expected losses in local elections in England and regional votes in Wales and Scotland on May 7.
Several Labour lawmakers seized on Robbins’ revelation that Downing Street had also lobbied for an ambassadorial role for Matthew Doyle, the prime minister’s former senior communications director. Doyle, who was removed from the Labour Party over links to a convicted sex offender, has apologized for his conduct. One lawmaker described Downing Street’s attempt to secure a diplomatic posting for Doyle as "pretty damning."
The dispute has widened into a war of words between senior officials and Downing Street. Robbins argued that it was the foreign ministry’s responsibility to complete developed vetting and that the established system prevented UK Security Vetting reports from being routinely disclosed to ministers to preserve confidentiality. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the vetting unit had advised the appointment was borderline and was leaning against clearance - a message Starmer says he never received.
Robbins’ defence, and his characterisation of persistent pressure from the prime minister’s private office, is likely to amplify political tension for Starmer. The prime minister, who after the 2024 election led Labour to its largest modern-era parliamentary majority, had recently won a short reprieve among some critics after limiting Britain’s role in the Iran war. However, even some senior ministers have subtly distanced themselves from him over the decision to appoint Mandelson.
When asked about his reaction to the Mandelson appointment, the energy minister Ed Miliband told Sky News: "That it could blow up, that it could go wrong."
Summary of key developments
- Olly Robbins told MPs he faced sustained pressure from the prime minister’s private office to fast-track Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the U.S.
- Robbins said Mandelson’s appointment appeared to be treated as a done deal when he arrived at the foreign ministry on January 20, 2025, including royal and U.S. agreement and limited access to classified briefings.
- He reported that the UK Security Vetting unit viewed the case as borderline and was leaning against granting developed vetting clearance, a warning Starmer says he did not receive.
Political context and immediate implications
Robbins’ testimony has re-opened scrutiny of who held decision-making responsibility for the Mandelson appointment and whether the prime minister’s office applied improper pressure to accelerate the process. The disclosures add strain to the prime minister’s position within his party even as Labour seeks to navigate expected setbacks in forthcoming local and regional elections.
At this stage, lawmakers within Labour have indicated there will not be an immediate move to remove Starmer from office. The unfolding debate over ministerial accountability, confidentiality in vetting processes, and Downing Street involvement in diplomatic staffing decisions will continue to shape political discussion in the coming weeks.