A former top civil servant has testified that Downing Street displayed a "dismissive approach" to security vetting while rushing through Lord Peter Mandelson's appointment as UK ambassador to the United States.
Sir Olly Robbins, who was effectively dismissed last week after his department granted Mandelson security clearance in January 2025, told the Foreign Affairs Committee that Number 10 created "constant pressure" to complete the vetting process quickly, showing interest only in "when" rather than "whether" clearance should be granted.
"Whilst I think the department felt under pressure, we were proud of the fact we'd not bowed to that pressure," Sir Olly stated during his evidence.
Key revelations from the testimony include:
Borderline Security Assessment
Sir Olly disclosed that he received only an oral briefing from UK Security Vetting (UKSV), which described Mandelson as a "borderline case" leaning toward denial of clearance. The vetting agency acknowledged that the Foreign Office "may wish to grant clearance, with appropriate risk management."
A recently published template of UKSV's vetting form shows three recommendation options: green (approve), amber (conditional), and red (deny). Separate documents revealed that UKSV's actual recommendation in Mandelson's case was that security clearance "should not be granted"—information Sir Olly claims he never received.
Epstein Connection Not the Issue
Contrary to public speculation, Sir Olly clarified that the risks identified in Mandelson's vetting report "did not relate to Jeffrey Epstein." The former Labour minister was sacked seven months into his ambassadorship over his ties to the late convicted sex offender.
Confidentiality Defense
Sir Olly defended his decision not to inform then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer about the vetting team's negative recommendation, stating that "the decision-making within the box of the vetting process must remain absolutely confidential."
He argued that sharing such information would constitute "offloading that responsibility" and emphasized that ministers are "not informed of any findings other than the final outcome"—a description he said had been approved by both the Cabinet Office and Downing Street.
Diplomatic Complications
The former civil servant revealed that blocking Mandelson's appointment would have created "quite an issue" in UK-US relations, particularly since former President Joe Biden had already agreed to the nomination toward the end of his term.
Additional Controversial Request
Sir Olly also disclosed that in March 2025, Number 10 asked him to "potentially" find an ambassadorial position for Matthew Doyle, then the Prime Minister's communications director. He described feeling "quite uncomfortable" about the request, especially given instructions not to discuss it with then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Doyle later received a Labour peerage but was subsequently suspended by the party over past associations with a former Labour councillor convicted of indecent child image offences.
Number 10 has rejected Sir Olly's characterization of a "dismissive attitude" toward vetting, telling reporters there was "clearly a difference between asking for updates in the appointment process" and being dismissive about security clearance procedures.