Olly Robbins should be reinstated, former cabinet secretary says

Sir Olly Robbins, who was brutally sacked by Sir Keir Starmer, should be reinstated, a former cabinet secretary has said, amid the ongoing debate over the review of Lord Peter Mandelson.

Lord Sedwill, who previously served as Britain’s most senior civil servant, said Sir Olly had “shouldered his responsibilities rather than evaded them” and called on Sir Keir to “put him back to the task of reshaping the country’s diplomatic service for the second quarter of the 21st century”.

It comes after the former Foreign Office chief said in explosive testimony on Tuesday that there was a “condescending approach” from No 10 to an investigation and an “atmosphere of pressure” to ensure Lord Mandelson was appointed as Britain’s ambassador to the US.

The chief civil servant was sacked by the prime minister last week after it emerged that he had failed to tell him that Lord Mandelson was allowed to take on the senior diplomatic post despite vetting officials advising him not to.

Sir Keir said in the House of Commons on Monday that he had challenged Sir Olly on why he had gone against the advice of the UK Security Review (UKSV) and did not accept his explanation.

But Sir Olly said it was normal not to share the findings of the review process and said the colleague felt under pressure to be approved for the role.

When Sir Olly took over the Foreign Office in January last year, Lord Mandelson had already gone through the Cabinet Office’s “due diligence” process, the King and the US had given him the go-ahead, and he had already been given access to “highly classified briefings” on a case-by-case basis – without his security clearance being approved.

The Whitehall veteran said this resulted in a “condescending approach” to the review developed in Downing Street for the remainder of the process, but insisted the process had been completed to the normal standard “despite this atmosphere of pressure”.

Number 10 rejected this, saying there was a distinction between “the idea of ​​pressure” and “knowledge of the process and the direction of the appointment”.

Posting on social media after Sir Olly’s testimony to the Foreign Affairs Committee, former cabinet secretary and national security adviser Mark Sedwill said he displayed the “calm honesty and intelligence that has characterized his distinguished public service career”.

“The Prime Minister appointed Peter Mandelson against official advice, announced that the appointment had been completed without vetting despite official advice, and claimed that he would have changed his mind had he been told that the review process inevitably raised concerns about Mandelson’s previous conduct that he was already well aware of.

“As Olly Robbins explained yesterday, the question for him was not whether he should tell the prime minister something he already knew, but whether these problems could be mitigated enough to allow Mandelson access to the secret intelligence he needed to do his job.

“He used professional judgment to the best of his ability. It appears that he unwisely shouldered his responsibilities rather than shirked them.”

He added: “The Prime Minister must withdraw his accusations against Olly Robbins and reinstate him to the task the country must do to reshape the diplomatic service for the second quarter of the 21st century.”

It came as Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, which represents Britain’s senior civil servants and professionals, accused Sir Keir of creating a “real chill across the civil service” following his decision to sack Sir Olly.

Mr Penman told BBC Newsnight: “I think the Prime Minister has lost his ability to work in the public service.”

“Who in the public service would think they would be immune from a situation where dismissal would be politically expedient?” he asked.

“This is not a place any government wants to be because it is not serving the people of the country.”