Robbins Spills on Mandelson Vetting Drama

On April 21st, Sir Olly Robbins dropped some heavy testimony before the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on the Lord Mandelson-Vetting Drama.

He was the top civil servant pushed out for not rushing clearance on Mandelson's pick as ambassador to Washington under Kierstarmer.

Robbins straight-up said,

Number 10 applied constant pressure, chasing updates like it was only about when, not if, the green light would come.

Meanwhile, he described Mandelson as a borderline case from UK security vetting, leaning toward denial, but nothing tied to Jeffrey Epstein.

The cabinet office even argued no vetting was needed since he's a privy counselor with known risks already flagged to the Prime Minister.

Yet the Foreign Office held firm and ran the full process.

MPs dug into other angles, like Robbins getting strict orders not to loop in the Foreign Secretary on Number 10, eyeing Lord Doyle for an ambassador.

But, which left him uneasy amid diplomat job cuts, they hammered him on spotty records too.

No notes on every Number 10 call, and he never saw the actual form marking high concerns for Mandelson.

Robbins stood firm that the Klerst decision stayed rigorously independent, with his team too sharp to buckle under heat.

He blasted the quickly to the Guardian as a major national security breach, calling for full probes and prosecutions.

All this underscores sloppy appointment rushes, clashing with security basics, and you can bet the committees keeping the heat on for clearer answers.

Down the line.