Former Top Civil Servant Delivers Quietly Devastating Testimony
When Olly Robbins took the stand before the foreign affairs select committee, he presented himself as the ultimate public servant – a man who had dedicated more than 25 years to government, working under prime ministers from Tony Blair to Theresa May. The former Brexit negotiator, who was sacked by Boris Johnson only to be reinstated by Keir Starmer, found himself at the center of a political storm after his dismissal from his plum position as permanent undersecretary at the Foreign Office.
The Mandelson Appointment Pressure
Robbins revealed that by the time he assumed his Foreign Office role, Number 10 had already decided that Peter Mandelson would become the next ambassador to the United States. The decision had been ratified with Washington and even received royal approval, leaving Robbins with what he described as intense pressure to simply rubber-stamp the appointment.
"There was intense pressure from No 10 for the Foreign Office to do the right thing," Robbins testified, suggesting officials were encouraged to "just shut up and sign the approval forms along the dotted line." Committee chair Emily Thornberry went further, stating that Morgan McSweeney had allegedly told Robbins to "just fucking approve it."
Vetting Process Controversy
Perhaps most damning was Robbins' revelation about the vetting process. Mandelson was reportedly allowed to view confidential documents long before his security vetting was complete, raising serious questions about procedural integrity. Robbins insisted he never succumbed to pressure and followed the civil service code meticulously, yet the circumstances suggested otherwise.
The former civil servant acknowledged that Mandelson's background – including being twice sacked for breaking the ministerial code, maintaining friendships with controversial figures, and leaking market-sensitive information – should have triggered scrutiny. Robbins claimed he assumed Downing Street had conducted proper due diligence and was comfortable with these aspects of Mandelson's past.
Conflicting Accounts and Missing Documents
The testimony took a surreal turn when Robbins revealed he had never seen Mandelson's actual vetting form, despite Number 10's insistence that it contained two red lights that should have automatically disqualified the appointment. Robbins claimed ignorance of the entire red-amber-green box system used in vetting assessments, describing the process as "all a mystery to him."
Even more puzzling was his admission that, given another chance, he would still approve Mandelson for the position. This contradiction highlighted what critics are calling "the madness of King Keir" – a prime minister seemingly detached from the operations of his own government.
Broader Implications for Starmer's Government
Robbins' testimony painted a picture of a prime minister curiously disengaged from crucial appointments. Starmer appeared as a semi-detached leader, content to let his team run the country while he enjoyed the title of prime minister. The revelation that Number 10 had also tried to appoint Matthew Doyle – Starmer's former communications head with his own controversial associations – to a diplomatic post alongside Mandelson suggested a pattern of questionable judgment.
After two and a half hours of questioning, Robbins departed, leaving behind more questions than answers. He refused to disclose what Starmer said during his dismissal, reserving that information for his legal team. The civil service, often called "the blob" by critics, appears to be fighting back, and this testimony suggests there may be further reckoning to come for the Starmer administration.
The quietly damning defense from Olly Robbins has exposed not just the pressure on civil servants to comply with political wishes, but also the troubling gaps in accountability within the current government. As one veteran observer noted, "Blessed are the geeks, for they shall inherit the earth. Just a shame that Olly never got to the bit in the prayer book about anything to do with Peter Mandelson always ending in a vale of tears."
