Fired former UK official says he felt political pressure to approve Mandelson as US ambassador
Summary
A former top UK civil servant, Olly Robbins, said he felt political pressure from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office to approve Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States despite security concerns. Robbins cleared Mandelson for the role even though the government’s security agency had warned against it, and the issue is causing difficulties for Starmer’s leadership.Key Facts
- Olly Robbins is the former head of the UK Foreign Office.
- Robbins testified that Starmer’s office pressured him to approve Mandelson quickly for the ambassador job.
- The UK security vetting agency flagged Mandelson as a possible security risk but did not specify why.
- Robbins called Mandelson’s security case “borderline” but decided to approve him anyway.
- Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was not the security concern flagged by officials.
- Starmer only learned about the security concerns last week and admitted it was a mistake to appoint Mandelson.
- Mandelson was fired from the ambassador role nine months after starting, after more details about his Epstein friendship emerged.
- Robbins said the vetting details are normally kept secret except in rare cases.
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