Sir Keir Starmer faced a grilling in the House of Commons at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday (22 April) amid the ongoing fallout over the vetting of Lord Peter Mandelson.
The prime minister is under intense pressure over his decision to fire Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins over the scandal, after it emerged he did not tell Sir Keir that Lord Mandelson was cleared to take up the top diplomatic post despite security vetting officials recommending against it.
Former cabinet secretary Lord Mark Sedwill, who led the civil service between 2018 and 2020, has called on the PM to reverse the sacking. Lord Sedwill praised Sir Olly’s “calm integrity and intelligence” and declared: “The country needs him.”
It comes after Sir Olly appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, describing how there was a “dismissive approach” on vetting from No 10 and an “atmosphere of pressure” to get Lord Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US over the line.
When Sir Olly took up his post as Foreign Office chief in January 2025, Lord Mandelson had already gone through the Cabinet Office’s “due diligence” process, the King and the US had given him approval, and he was already being granted access to “highly classified briefings” on a case-by-case basis – without his security clearance being confirmed, Sir Olly said.
The mandarin told the committee this resulted in a “dismissive approach” to developed vetting from No 10 for the remainder of the process, but insisted it was completed to the normal standard “despite this atmosphere of pressure”.
Downing Street rejected this, saying there is a distinction between “the idea of pressure” and “being kept informed about the process and the progress of the appointment”.
