Starmer sacked Olly Robbins before he could defend himself over Mandelson scandal, allies say

Allies of Sir Olly Robbins have claimed he was sacked by the prime minister without even being asked to explain his handling of the Peter Mandelson investigation scandal.

Sir Keir Starmer sacked the former Foreign Office chief last week after failing to tell him that Lord Mandelson had failed vetting for the role of US ambassador.

Asked in the House of Commons on Monday whether he had asked senior Conservative MP Sir Julian Lewis for an explanation from Sir Olly, Sir Keir told the Commons: “I asked him and I didn’t accept his explanation. That’s why I dismissed him.”

But friends of the former permanent secretary hit back, saying: Independent “no questions were asked”.

A source close to Sir Olly said: Independent: “The Prime Minister told MPs that he asked Olly Robbins why he had not shared the results of the review with him.

“That’s not the case. According to the timeline, the prime minister found out about it on Tuesday evening, the first thing Olly found out about was on Wednesday morning.

“A phone call took place, but the prime minister told Olly he was disgusted and dismissed. He did not ask for an explanation from Olly.”

They noted that Sir Olly refused to confirm the prime minister’s version of events when questioned by Conservative MP Aphra Brandreth before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday during an inquiry into his role in the inquiry scandal. He hinted that a legal claim could come instead.

When the allegations were reported to No 10, Downing Street said the Prime Minister “stands by his words” but refused to answer questions about whether notes were taken or whether anyone else was present at the meeting.

Downing Street sources added that Sir Olly had been asked to give an account before meeting the prime minister he had sacked.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said “everything is terrible” and suggested the Prime Minister would have misled MPs if the allegations were true.

he said Independent: “It is now obvious to everyone that Olly Robbins was the last person fired by Starmer to save the Prime Minister’s life. It would not be a surprise if the Prime Minister never demanded an explanation from Robbins, because Starmer was actually just looking for someone to carry the box for his own decision.”

“On Monday the prime minister said he had received a statement from Robbins, which may be another point where Starmer has misled us. It all stinks.”

Following reports that he was hiring a lawyer to pursue a legal claim over his dismissal, Sir Olly told MPs on Tuesday: “To be honest, for me personally, I’m in uncharted territory in terms of the HR position I’m in and what that means for my family. I have to keep quiet about this until my advisers tell me what the most appropriate thing to do about it is.”

Asked what discussions took place before she was sacked, Ms Brandreth told the committee: “I asked the question because it seemed to me that [the] The Prime Minister’s perspective and Sir Oliver Robbins’ view of the events were very different… It seems that the Prime Minister, who cared so much about the process, should have asked Sir Oliver very detailed questions in order to form an opinion.”

A front page story Independent The incident, which revealed concerns from September that Lord Mandelson had failed to review, had already been used to question Sir Keir’s view of events, who claimed he and Downing Street only learned of the matter last week.

The latest revelation comes as Jonathan Brash becomes the first Labor MP to demand his resignation. Asked if Sir Keir should leave, he replied: “Yes” and added that he was “tired of this psychodrama in Westminster”.

Earlier on Wednesday, the prime minister sought to draw a line under the scandal, telling MPs during Prime Minister’s Questions that Sir Olly’s evidence to the committee “discredits all the allegations made against me” following allegations that he misled parliament.

He said: “Sir Olly Robbins was asked yesterday if he had shared this decision with me, No. 10 or any minister. He gave a clear answer: no. This invalidates all the allegations of fraud made by my detractors.

“Last week they were all saying this should have been shared with me. Sir Olly was very clear yesterday; it wasn’t. I believe it was a serious error of judgment not to share this.”

“This information should have been shared with me and other ministers, and if it had been, Mandelson would not have been committed to sharing it.”

But Sir Keir, who has come under criticism from Ms Badenoch and other MPs, admitted No 10 had sought an ambassadorial post for Matthew Doyle before sacking him as communications director.

The Prime Minister said there were “frequent conversations about other roles” when staff left “in any organisation”, but “nothing came of it” from discussions about Lord Doyle’s overseas appointment.

This was made all the more embarrassing because this precedent saw Mandelson suspended by Labor over his close relationship with a convicted pedophile in a scandal that had echoes of his friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Ms Badenoch said: “This is a joke. The Prime Minister promised them honesty. He gave them nepotism and an old boys’ club where Matthew Doyle was recommended as ambassador. This is ridiculous.”

“We all heard Sir Olly Robbins’ statement yesterday. The head of the Foreign Office has been sacked for the prime minister’s own failings.”

And the problem will not be resolved with Sir Keir’s former private secretary Morgan McSweeney being summoned to give evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee next week, hours before parliament is adjourned ahead of the King’s speech on 13 May.