Sacked Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins to face MPs’ questions over Mandelson vetting – UK politics live
Summary
Olly Robbins, the former top official at the UK Foreign Office, is set to answer questions from British MPs about the decision to make Peter Mandelson the UK ambassador to the United States. Robbins is expected to explain why he approved Mandelson’s security clearance despite Mandelson failing the official vetting, and the role Prime Minister Keir Starmer played in that approval.Key Facts
- Olly Robbins was the top civil servant at the UK Foreign Office until recently.
- Robbins will testify before the UK Parliament’s foreign affairs committee.
- Peter Mandelson was appointed UK ambassador to the US by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
- Mandelson failed the standard UK security vetting process known as Developed Vetting (DV).
- Robbins overruled the vetting officials and approved Mandelson’s security clearance.
- Robbins did not inform Prime Minister Starmer about Mandelson failing the vetting before the ambassador appointment was announced.
- Robbins is expected to say that he was pressured because Starmer had already decided to appoint Mandelson.
- President Donald Trump criticized Starmer’s choice of Mandelson as ambassador on social media.
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