Ministers speak out in cabinet meeting over Keir Starmer’s sacking of Olly Robbins

Sources say cabinet ministers warned PM against alienating civil service after firing of official over Mandelson scandal

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Cabinet ministers have expressed concern about Keir’s Starmer’s decision to sack Olly Robbins as the Foreign Office’s top official over the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal as they warned him not to alienate the civil service, sources have told the Guardian.

Several ministers spoke out about the decision to sack Robbins during a gloomy cabinet meeting on Tuesday, according to multiple government sources.