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Key points from Starmer's Mandelson statement

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

No 10 had 'dismissive attitude' to Mandelson vetting, says sacked Foreign Office chief

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

Naming Mandelson as ambassador before vetting was mistake, minister says

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

In Peter Mandelson evidence, Cat Little had the best weapon: an audit trail

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

PM's ex-chief of staff to give evidence on Mandelson vetting

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

‘Self-serving stuff’: anger remains high in Whitehall over Olly Robbins sacking

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

Olly Robbins and Mandelson’s vetting: what did he do, why – and who knew?

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

Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision

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

Key takeaways from senior official on Mandelson vetting

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

How Olly Robbins’ knightly charm glossed over burning questions on Mandelson vetting

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

Why Starmer still can't move on from the Mandelson mess

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