Ousted Foreign Office chief expected to face MPs over Mandelson security clearance
Sir Olly Robbins, the senior Foreign Office official removed over the decision to grant Peter Mandelson a security clearance despite vetting concerns, is expected to face questioning by MPs on Tuesday. The planned session before the Foreign Affairs Committee comes a day after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is due to address the Commons about the row.
Sir Olly’s predecessor as Foreign Office permanent secretary, Lord Simon McDonald, defended him in a radio interview, saying “No 10 wanted a scalp and wanted it quickly.” He added that he saw no evidence of “process” or “fairness” in Sir Olly’s removal and that it felt wrong.
Lord McDonald said details from the “confidential” vetting process would “never be shared with No 10 or the prime minister”, although an outright failure “would have to be conveyed to the political level.” The fact this apparently did not happen, he said, suggested “the picture was more complicated than Number 10 wished to present.” Multiple Whitehall sources have said security officials recommended against granting Mandelson’s clearance.
On Friday, the government published the UK Security Vetting decision template, which shows officials indicate a low, moderate or high level of concern and then recommend that clearance be approved, approved with risk management, or denied—options marked in green, yellow, or red.
Downing Street said this was the type of document the Foreign Office would have been presented with following Mandelson’s vetting. According to those sources, officials selected red in both sections for Mandelson’s case, indicating the highest level of concern and an explicit recommendation to deny clearance.
Sir Keir has faced intense scrutiny from opposition MPs, who have questioned his assertion that he first learned earlier this week that Mandelson had failed the vetting process. The prime minister previously told the Commons that “due process” was followed, prompting accusations from opposition MPs that he misled Parliament.
On Friday evening, Downing Street released an official account of a 15 April meeting at which Sir Keir has said he was informed about Mandelson’s vetting for the first time.
He has called the decision not to tell him sooner “staggering”, adding: “That I wasn’t told that he had failed security vetting when I was telling Parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable.” Dame Emily Thornberry, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to Sir Olly on Friday requesting his appearance to answer questions.
She said developments this week had “called into question” evidence he previously gave to the committee. The committee session is expected to probe why clearance was granted and whether No 10 was informed of any red flags.