LONDON (AP) 鈥� A former top British official on Tuesday about how scandal-tainted politician , a friend of , came to be approved as Britain’s ambassador to Washington despite .
Olly Robbins, the former head of the Foreign Office, was fired by Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week over his decision to approve Mandelson for the top diplomatic job despite being briefed about security concerns.
In his defense, Robbins told lawmakers Tuesday that his department followed the correct procedure. But his comments did little to dispel months of questions surrounding Starmer’s judgment in appointing Mandelson, and led to renewed calls for Starmer to step down.
The fallout for Starmer has rumbled on even though he fired Mandelson last year after documents showed the ambassador had maintained much closer ties to Epstein than previously thought.
Here are some key takeaways from Robbins’ testimony to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee:
Robbins says the Prime Minister’s office was 鈥榙ismissive鈥� of security vetting
One of the most damaging revelations for Starmer was Robbins’ description of the political pressure to push through Mandelson’s security vetting.
Robbins told lawmakers there was a 鈥渧ery, very strong expectation鈥� from Downing Street that Mandelson 鈥渘eeded to be in post and in America as quickly as humanly possible.”
Robbins said security vetting was underway but not yet complete when he took up his job, about two weeks after Mandelson’s appointment was announced in December 2024. The U.S. government had accepted the nomination and Mandelson was granted access to classified briefings.
Downing Street took a 鈥渄ismissive attitude鈥� to Mandelson’s security vetting, Robbins said.
There was 鈥渘ever any interest, as far as I can recall, in whether, but only an interest in when,” he said.
Robbins says Starmer misunderstood his obligation to relay details
Starmer said he was 鈥渇urious鈥� he wasn鈥檛 told Mandelson had failed security clearance and that he fired Robbins for withholding that information. The government said Starmer only found out last week that United Kingdom Security Vetting, the team carrying out highly sensitive security checks on officials, had advised against granting Mandelson clearance.
Robbins said Foreign Office confidentiality rules barred him from telling the prime minister he had approved Mandelson for the posting despite the team’s advice to the contrary, and that the vetting process is so secretive that even he was not shown the panel’s report on Mandelson.
The government has said vetting officials give their recommendations on a document with three boxes 鈥� green, yellow and red 鈥� to indicate if clearance should be approved or denied. It鈥檚 not known what risks were flagged by the vetting officials, nor whether Robbins knew what they were.
Robbins said he never saw the document but that he was briefed that the vetting officials considered Mandelson a 鈥渂orderline case鈥� and were 鈥渓eaning towards recommending that clearance be denied.鈥�
Nonetheless, Foreign Office officials decided those risks could be managed or mitigated.
The security concerns were not related to Mandelson’s ties to Epstein
The furor over the appointment arose earlier this year when new files released in Washington suggested Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to Epstein following the 2008 financial crisis when he was the U.K. government鈥檚 business secretary.
But Robbins said explicitly that concerns raised in Mandelson鈥檚 security screening had nothing to do with his ties to the convicted sex abuser.
Alarms, however, were sounded in a “due diligence report鈥� when Mandelson was first named as the future ambassador. The report released to Parliament last month showed civil servants raised concerns about the 鈥渞eputational risk鈥� the elder statesman posed for the government if appointed to the high-profile diplomatic post.
In addition to citing the Epstein relationship, the report outlined Mandelson鈥檚 troubling business ties to Russia and China and noted his resignations from two previous Labour governments because of scandals over money and ethics.
Starmer apologized and blamed Mandelson for lying about the extent of his ties to the convicted sex offender.
Mandelson’s appointment continues to haunt Starmer
Robbins’ testimony that Mandelson was appointed despite significant security concerns has heaped new pressure on a beleaguered Starmer to defend himself from rivals calling for his resignation.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said it was 鈥渋nconceivable鈥� that nobody in Starmer’s office knew Mandelson had flunked the security clearance, and she accused him of misleading Parliament.
鈥淭he evidence from Olly Robbins is devastating to Keir Starmer,” Badenoch said. 鈥淚t is clear that No. 10 not only made the appointment before vetting was completed, but that Mandelson was already acting as the ambassador before the vetting, even seeing highly-classified documents. … It is now absolutely clear that 鈥榝ull due process鈥� was not followed.”
Polling has consistently shown support for Starmer is falling. Keiran Pedley, director of politics at the polling firm Ipsos, said the latest revelations could entrench the public鈥檚 negative views about his leadership.
鈥淩ecently it had been suggested that Starmer鈥檚 response to the Iran war had put questions about his future on the back burner,鈥� Pedley added. 鈥淭hat may no longer be the case.鈥�
Upcoming local elections in England, Scotland and Wales could deliver a more resounding referendum on his leadership if they are, as expected, particularly bad for the Labour Party.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
