15 resultsfor “Sir Olly Robbins sacking reason”
reason why the overall vetting recommendation could not have been shared with him. He suggested that this was a key point of difference between him and Sir Olly Robbins, the former top civil servant
Robbins has accused Downing Street of taking a "dismissive approach" to vetting during Lord Mandelson's appointment as the UK's ambassador to the US. Sir Olly was sacked as Foreign Office boss last week
Robbins and did not appear to understand how vetting worked. “The dismissal of Sir Olly risks having a serious and sustained chilling effect on serving and prospective civil servants,” O’Donnell wrote. He said Starmer
Sir Humphrey moment – potentially an existential one. Olly Robbins, [fired by the prime minister](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/16/foreign-offices-top-civil-servant-olly-robbins-leaves-post-in-mandelson-vetting-row) as the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary after not informing him that Peter Mandelson had failed his vetting
Sir Olly.” Then, when she was asked why Robbins would not want the information to be shared, she said: “In the actual meeting, the specific reasons were not discussed.” Little made clear her account
sacked Lord Mandelson from the role in September 2025 over his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but has been facing ongoing questions about the appointment ever since. Sir Keir Starmer's former
Robbins accused No 10 of a "dismissive" attitude towards the process - a claim Downing Street has denied. Cat Little, the most senior civil servant at the Cabinet Office, will appear before the committee on Thursday
reasons given. “The guild of former permanent secretaries is on his side,” one former senior No 10 official said. “Going back to days gone by, I don’t think Jeremy Heywood would have allowed
Sir Olly said there was an “atmosphere of pressure” and “constant chasing” from Downing Street. - Whether he had seen the cover form for Lord Mandelson’s vetting by UK Security Vetting (UKSV), the agency responsible
Sir Olly Robbins, the current permanent secretary in the Foreign Office, was the department’s top civil servant in late January 2025 when the decision was made, having taken up the role earlier that month
Sir Oliver,” Wormald responded, looking to his left towards Robbins. “And then a decision is taken on whether the relevant level of security clearance is to be granted and what mitigations, if any, are required
Sir, obviously – who had been permanent secretary at the Foreign Office up until a week previously when Keir had sacked him for failing to mention that UK Security Vetting had given Mandy two red lights
Robbins, who was sacked as the top civil servant at the Foreign Office last week after the department's decision to grant Lord Mandelson clearance emerged. Here are the key points from her evidence
Olly Robbins and reinstate him”. Simon McDonald, who once held Robbins’ job as top civil servant in the Foreign Office, said if [Keir Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer) had only waited to hear his evidence
sacked for not creating a problem for the prime minister. Which is novel. The great lesson from all this is that the Labour government want the civil service to save them from their own judgments