Sacked Foreign Office chief’s explosive broadside at Starmer: No10 ‘pressured’ him into waving through Mandelson and ‘dismissed’ security vetting

Keir Starmer’s hopes of escaping the Mandelson scandal were dealt a major blow today when the sacked Foreign Office chief said he was ‘pressured’ not to accept the appointment.

In explosive testimony to MPs, Sir Olly Robbins said No10 was ‘pursuing’ his duties as US ambassador and ‘did not accept’ the need for any security review.

The intervention came after the mandarin was publicly blamed by Sir Keir for not telling him that officials had advised Mandelson not to be given the key job.

At last night’s marathon in the House of Commons – as Labor benches emptied alarmingly behind him – Sir Keir said he was “deliberately” kept in the dark.

But Sir Olly, who took up his post after Mandelson’s public appearance but before he was officially confirmed as US ambassador, said there was an ‘atmosphere of pressure’.

‘I came into a situation where there was a very, very strong expectation that he should be in office and come to America as soon as possible,’ he said.

The officer said he received a letter terminating his employment yesterday. It is thought he is now consulting lawyers for fear of paying a huge price.

Previously, Ed Miliband caused great sadness to the prime minister by announcing that he had warned Mandelson not to be made the US ambassador.

The Net Zero Secretary said he told David Lammy he thought the appointment could ‘explode’ and the then Secretary of State shared his concerns.

Anger has again raised doubts about whether Sir Keir, who was nearly ousted in a coup in February, can hold on to No 10. We are just two weeks away from local elections, where Labor faces a blow from Reform.

Anger has renewed doubts over whether Sir Keir, who was nearly ousted in a coup in February, can hold on to No 10

Sir Olly lays out his case against Downing Street in letter to committee

Yesterday Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander raised eyebrows when he said he was ‘not certain’ the Prime Minister would lead Labor at the next election.

Sir Olly said he was verbally briefed on the vetting process and told that the team was inclined to reject Mandelson.

But he argued that officials agreed there were ways to manage the risks and that he was given the authority to proceed.

Sir Olly said that when he became head of the Foreign Office, the Cabinet Office carried out due diligence, the King had already approved the appointment and the US had agreed.

In a letter to the committee, Sir Olly said: ‘Due diligence (which assesses reputational suitability and checks whether a candidate is fit to serve) has been completed by the Cabinet Office.’

‘Mandelson was given access to highly classified briefings on a case-by-case basis.’

He said this resulted in ‘a dismissive approach by No 10 Downing Street to the DV (enhanced review) throughout the remainder of the process. However, despite this atmosphere of pressure the department completed the DV to the normally high standard.’

Mr Miliband insists he has no intention of taking over from Sir Keir, but many in Westminster see him as manoeuvrable.

Another potential rival, Angela Rayner, will make a sharp intervention at a conference this evening, urging Labor to be ‘bolder’.

Mandelson served as US ambassador for nine months until new details of her relationship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged.

Instead of the Washington job going to a career diplomat, he was a political appointee to the plum diplomatic role.

Mr Miliband, who toured broadcasting studios on behalf of the Government this morning He said Sir Keir accepted that Mandelson should never have been appointed.

‘I stayed well away from Peter Mandelson when I became Labor leader in 2010,’ he told Sky News.

Asked what he thought when Lord Mandelson’s appointment was announced, he said: ‘It could explode, it could go wrong.’

She added: ‘I spoke to David Lammy about it before the appointment and said I was worried about it… I think he was worried about it too.’

Pressed on whether Sir Keir Starmer should lose his job, he said: ‘I don’t think so, no. Frankly, I don’t want to.

‘I think the prime ministers made a mistake. Prime Ministers can be wrong. Prime ministers are people. ‘

Mandelson spent nine months as US ambassador before new details of his relationship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged

Ed Miliband today revealed Keir Starmer had warned against making Peter Mandelson US ambassador as he faced further turmoil

At last night’s marathon in the House of Commons – as Labor benches emptied alarmingly behind him – Sir Keir said he was “deliberately” kept in the dark

Donald Trump waded into the debate overnight, saying Mandelson was a ‘really bad choice’ for the post of US ambassador.

Escalating his argument with the Prime Minister over the Iran war and trade, the US President wrote on Truth Social: ‘UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer admitted that he ‘made the wrong decision’ when choosing his Washington Ambassador.

‘I admit, it was a really bad choice.’

Mr Trump added: ‘But we have plenty of time to heal! President DJT.’

One of the reasons Sir Keir chose Mandelson was his hope that the smooth-talking Labor veteran would impress Trump.

This seemed to work when the President muttered over Mandelson’s “beautiful accent” during a trade deal announcement in May 2025.

Sir Keir endured a fierce debate in the House of Commons yesterday; Speaker Lindsay Hoyle allowed the session to continue for around two and a half hours after a clash with the Prime Minister the previous week.

The Prime Minister burst into sarcastic laughter as he acknowledged that his version of events was “expressing beliefs”.

He struggled to explain why he appointed Mandelson before he was scrutinized, despite being warned about his friendship with Epstein and business ties to China and Russia.

Donald Trump waded into controversy overnight, saying Mandelson was a ‘really bad choice’ for US ambassador post

Sir Keir denied misleading MPs over Labor’s decision to appoint his disgraced counterpart as ambassador to the US.

He admitted that bringing back Mandelson was a mistake, calling it ‘wrong’ and insisting he would ‘take responsibility’ for it.

But he claimed Labor would never have given his grandfather the job if he had known he had failed vetting.

Instead he angrily blamed the Foreign Office and Sir Olly.