The most senior civil servant at the Foreign Office has been dismissed following revelations that security concerns about Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador were concealed from Parliament and ministers, triggering allegations of an institutional cover-up.
Sir Olly Robbins lost his position on Wednesday night after Downing Street and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper determined he had misled the parliamentary foreign affairs committee regarding the controversial peer’s security clearance process.
The scandal centres on UK Security Vetting’s decision to deny Mandelson developed vetting (DV) clearance—a recommendation subsequently overruled by Foreign Office officials using rarely invoked emergency powers after the appointment had already been publicly announced in December 2024.
Remarkably, Labour’s self-described Prince of Darkness underwent security screening only after Sir Keir Starmer had formally named him Britain’s representative in Washington, creating a bureaucratic impasse when the Cabinet Office vetting division rejected his application for undisclosed reasons.
Sir Olly, who was appointed permanent secretary in January following Mandelson’s nomination, subsequently authorised a £75,000 payout to the peer after his September resignation over fresh revelations concerning his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein—a settlement the mandarin characterised as “good value for money.”
Critically, correspondence jointly signed by Cooper and Robbins to the foreign affairs committee stated vetting had been conducted “to the usual standard” and “concluded with DV clearance being granted by the FCDO,” without disclosing that the UK Security Vetting body had initially denied approval.
Sir Olly faced further questioning during a select committee appearance where he again failed to reveal the vetting reversal, prompting committee chairman Emily Thornberry to announce plans to recall him for testimony. “Looking at the evidence that was given and the letters that have been written, to be charitable, there are glaring holes,” she stated before his dismissal.
The Prime Minister has denied he or any minister possessed knowledge of the security failure prior to Mandelson’s appointment, though the claim faces scrutiny given the sensitivity of overriding vetting recommendations for such a prominent diplomatic posting.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the government of orchestrating a cover-up, noting the information was absent from 147 pages of documents released last month following a parliamentary Humble Address compelling disclosure.
Reports emerged that senior officials had debated withholding the vetting failure from Parliament, according to The Guardian, intensifying suspicions about transparency.
Sir Olly’s career spanned multiple administrations, serving Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May in various capacities, most notably as chief Brexit negotiator where he attracted criticism for alleged Brussels concessions.
