Key points from sacked official in Mandelson vetting disputeJust nowKate WhannelPolitical ReporterPA MediaSir Olly, the former top civil service at the Foreign Office is giving evidence to the MPs on foreign affairs committee about the role he played in vetting the peer security clearance for the role of the UK’s Ambassador to the US. Sir Olly Robbins, the former top civil servant at the Foreign Office, is giving evidence to MPs on the foreign affairs committee about his role in vetting Lord Mandelson to be the UK’s ambassador to the US. This comes after he was effectively sacked by his department last week when it was revealed that his department had granted peer security clearance for this role in January 2025 against the recommendation of the security officials who vetted the person. No 10 had a “dismissive” approach to vetting. In a letter published at the same time as his oral testimony, Sir Olly stated that Lord Mandelson’s nomination had already been announced by the US when he took up the role in the Foreign Office. He also noted that Lord Mandelson was already granted access to the Foreign Office and given a “highly classified briefing, on a case-bycase basis”. He said that these factors “resulted” in a dismissive attitude from Downing Street towards developed vetting – the process necessary to obtain security clearance. Downing Street is under ‘constant pressure’ Sir Olly said that Downing Street had a “strong expectation”, that Lord Mandelson should “be in America and in his post as soon as humanly possible”. He said that his office was “under constant pressure” to complete the vetting. He said later that “I think the department felt pressured, but we were proud that we hadn’t bowed to this pressure.” “Mandelson’s concerns did not pertain to Epstein. In his letter, he said that he had never seen the documentation of UK Security Vetting, the government’s internal vetting unit. It contained their vetting evaluation of Lord Mandelson. He said that, instead, he received an oral briefing during which he learned that the vetting agency regarded Mandelson as a “borderline” case and that they “were leaning towards recommending clearance be denied”. He said UKSV acknowledged the Foreign Office may “want to grant clearance with appropriate risk management”. “The risks were not related to Jeffrey Epstein,” said he. Sir Olly refused to answer questions from Labour MP Emily Thornberry who chairs the committee. Sir Olly said that blocking Mandelson would have created problems with the US. He advised the government to conduct Lord Mandelson’s background check before announcing his appointment. He said that former US President Joe Biden agreed to the appointment near the end of his tenure in office. He added that if the nomination changed after this point, the incoming government would have commented publicly on it and it could have caused a problem in the relationship. Starmer’s Mandelson Statement: Key Points Officials withheld Mandelson’s vetting results from me, Starmer claims.Sign up for the Politics Essential newsletter and read top political analyses, gain insight across the UK, and stay up-to-date with the big moments. It will be delivered to your inbox each weekday.Keir Starmer
