Watch live as former top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins answers MPs questions on Tuesday (21 April) on the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
Sir Olly was sacked from his post as head of the Foreign Office last week, with the prime minister blaming him for deliberately keeping him in the dark over Lord Mandelson’s failure to pass security vetting check.
Sir Keir told the Commons on Monday that he would not have appointed Lord Mandelson if he had known the peer had failed the checks and insisted there was no pressure from No 10 to push through the high-profile appointment.
Sir Olly will give MPs his version of events when he appears in front of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Times reports that he is expected to reveal he did not see the formal recommendation by the UK Security Vetting body that Mandelson should not be given clearance, and that there was pressure to make the appointment. A Whitehall source also told the newspaper that Sir Olly will “not hold back” in defence of his actions.
Also on Tuesday, the prime minister will face further scrutiny during an emergency debate in the Commons on the scandal after a request submitted by Tory party leader Kemi Badenoch was approved.
