The Foreign Office’s most senior civil servant Sir Olly Robbins is to leave his role following revelations that the department overruled security vetting for Lord Peter Mandelson‘s appointment as UK ambassador to the US.
It is understood that Sir Keir Starmer and foreign secretary Yvette Cooper have expressed a loss of confidence in Sir Olly, the permanent under-secretary.
Security officials had initially denied clearance for the Labour peer, but Foreign Office officials took the unusual step of overriding this recommendation.
The prime minister was reportedly unaware until earlier this week that Lord Mandelson had been granted developed vetting against the advice of UK Security Vetting.
He has since instructed officials to establish the full facts surrounding the decision, with the Foreign Office stating it is “working urgently” to comply with the inquiry.
It comes after The Guardian reported that security officials initially denied clearance to Lord Mandelson, but it was after the prime minister had already named him as Britain’s top diplomat in the US, and the Foreign Office took the rare step of overruling the recommendation.
Sir Keir has previously insisted due process was followed in the appointment, and that Lord Mandelson had lied about the extent of his links with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The prime minister also said previously that vetting carried out independently by the security services “gave him clearance for the role”.
However, the peer was not granted approval following the secretive process by the Cabinet Office’s UK Security Vetting (UKSV) last January, The Guardian reported.
A Government spokesperson said earlier on Thursday: “The decision to grant developed vetting to Peter Mandelson against the recommendation of UK Security Vetting was taken by officials in the FCDO.”
They added: “Once the Prime Minister was informed he immediately instructed officials to establish the facts about why the developed vetting was granted, in order to enact plans to update the House of Commons.”
Sir Keir has now faced calls from across the political spectrum to stand down over the appointment.
Questions over the matter intensified after the first batch of documents related to the decision published last month showed that he was warned before announcing the former Labour MP’s ambassadorship of a “general reputational risk” over his association with Epstein.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch on Thursday said: “It is preposterous for Starmer to claim he did not know Mandelson failed security vetting.
“If the Prime Minister doesn’t know what’s happening in his own office, he shouldn’t be in charge of our country. He should go.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “If this is true, the PM should’ve told Parliament at the earliest opportunity, not waited for the media to force the truth out.
“His failure to do that alone is surely a breach of the Ministerial Code.”
The Green Party and Reform UK have also now called for Sir Keir to resign.
Lord Mandelson was sacked from his Washington role last September when more details emerged about his relationship with Epstein, who died in 2019.
