Keir Starmer's Mandelson woes deepen as sacked Olly Robbins blasts No10 pressure

Keir Starmer's Mandelson woes deepen as sacked Olly Robbins blasts No10 pressureSir Olly Robbins told the Foreign Affairs Committee there was an atmosphere of 'get this done' on Peter Mandelson's vetting when he arrived in the Foreign Office in January 2025CommentsNewsLizzy Buchan Political Editor11:35, 21 Apr 2026Updated 11:36, 21 Apr 2026View 3 ImagesKeir Starmer is facing fresh recriminations over his decision to send Peter Mandelson to Washington(Image: NEIL HALL/EPA/Shutterstock)Sacked Foreign Office boss Sir Olly Robbins said No10 applied "constant pressure" to get Peter Mandelson to Washington as quickly as possible and took a "dismissive" approach to his vetting.‌The former top official came out fighting after Keir Starmer accused the Foreign Office of keeping him in the dark over the shamed peer's security clearance. In bombshell evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Sir Olly said there was an atmosphere of "get this done" when he arrived in the Foreign Office in January 2025, as the former Labour grandee had already been announced as the PM's pick to be ambassador in December 2024.‌Sir Olly claimed the Cabinet Office had even questioned whether Lord Mandelson needed vetting as he was a member of the House of Lords and a member of the privy council. "I'm afraid I don't think, at the point of his appointment and for days thereafter, it was actually a given that he would be vetted," he said.‌And in an astonishing revelation, Sir Olly said he'd been ordered to find a top diplomatic post for Matthew Doyle, the PM's then-spin chief, but was banned from telling David Lammy, who was Foreign Secretary at the time. Doyle was made a peer instead but later lost the Labour whip over his ties to a convicted sex offender.READ MORE: Peter Mandelson scandal LIVE: Sacked Olly Robbins claims Downing Street had 'dismissive approach' to vettingREAD MORE: Keir Starmer vents...