PM finds fall guy to save his skin: Rattled Starmer throws mandarin under the bus over Mandelson vetting scandal

Foreign Office official Sir Olly Robbins was sacked last night following the latest Peter Mandelson scandal.

Sir Keir Starmer has denied that he or any of his ministers knew that Mandelson, the controversial architect of New Labour, had failed due diligence (DV) for the role of US ambassador, but the Foreign Office overruled the decision.

Downing Street’s rejection, which was subject to serious scrutiny last night, raises questions about who made the decision to push through the appointment despite red flags.

Sir Olly, the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office at the time, was in the frame. It is feared the fallen man will be next in line as it was confirmed last night.

The Daily Mail understands the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper have lost confidence in Sir Olly, who joined the Treasury in 1996.

In 2006 Tony Blair made him principal private secretary and he moved to the Cabinet Office under Gordon Brown. He served as David Cameron’s deputy national security adviser and worked at the Home Office when Theresa May was home secretary, eventually becoming her chief Brexit official.

He was accused of having too much influence over Mrs May and was described as ‘the most powerful man in Westminster you’ve never heard of’. In a rare public intervention, then-Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill said Sir Olly’s critics ‘should be ashamed of themselves’.

In September 2018, Sir Olly refused to say whether he believed leaving the EU would be ‘a good thing’. Ultimately, he was accused of giving too much to Brussels in failed negotiations.

Sir Keir Starmer denied he or any of his ministers were aware that New Labour’s controversial architect had failed enhanced scrutiny (file image)

No 10 ignored warnings about Mandelson’s friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Infamous peer photographed in her panties

Sir Keir named Mandelson the UK’s man in Washington in December 2024. While No 10 ignored warnings about the friend’s friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, ‘senior figures’ at the Foreign Office were said to ‘advise against’ giving the role to someone who has twice been forced to resign from the Cabinet.

The following month, Sir Olly was appointed permanent secretary of the Foreign Office, assisting the then Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

Remarkably, Mandelson, Labour’s self-confessed Prince of Darkness, faced scrutiny for the job only after he was publicly given the job. And yesterday it emerged that the UK Security Review (UKSV), a division of the Cabinet Office that examines the backgrounds of prospective civil servants, had turned him down.

Faced with a dilemma, given that his appointment had been announced, State Department officials invoked rarely used powers to override the recommendation.

The department concealed the failure after Mandelson was sacked in September last year amid new information about his links to Epstein.

Sir Olly signed off on Lord Mandelson’s £75,000 payout following his resignation, claiming it was ‘good value for money’.

Ms Cooper and Sir Olly, who is now the Foreign Secretary, wrote to the foreign affairs committee saying the security investigation had been carried out ‘to the usual standard’. They added that this ‘resulted in the issuance of DV permission by the FCDO’.

He did not state that UKSV did not give him permission. It is unknown why Mandelson failed the checks, but the process involves disclosing personal information, including financial and sexual history.

Following his wife’s departure, Sir Olly was also grilled by the foreign affairs select committee and once again failed to explain the review debacle.

On Thursday night Keir Starmer faced angry demands for resignation after Downing Street admitted Lord Mandelson had been appointed Britain’s ambassador to the US despite failing security checks (Mandy was pictured last month)

A three-page ‘due diligence’ report submitted to Sir Keir on 11 December 2024 flagged links between Mandelson and Epstein

Last night, before Sir Olly was sacked, the committee’s chair, Labor ambassador Emily Thornberry, said she would take the tangerine back to answer questions.

‘When one looks at the evidence given and the letters written in the name of charity there are glaring gaps,’ he said.

During the hearing, Sir Olly said the ‘vast majority’ of inspection reports were ‘relatively simple’.

He added: ‘Those that require higher level judgment and potentially a discussion about managing and mitigating risks are communicated appropriately.’

Sir Chris Wormald, who was Cabinet Secretary at the time, also gave evidence. He said the review process developed would typically result in a report from a ‘line manager’ – in this case this would be Sir Oliver – and a decision would be made as to whether the relevant level of security clearance should be granted and what mitigating measures, if any, were required.

There were also concerns last night about why the investigation scandal has not yet been released in documents relating to the case.

This statement was not included in a section of the 147-page document regarding Mandelson’s appointment, which was announced last month after the Conservative Party cornered the government. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said: ‘There appears to have been a cover-up because we had a Humble Speech in Parliament where we asked for all the documents. This didn’t come out then.’

Fears of a cover-up were further raised last night by reports that senior government officials are considering whether to hide review failure documents from Parliament, according to the Guardian.