No 10 had 'dismissive attitude' to Mandelson vetting, says ex-official

The former civil servant in charge of approving Lord Peter Mandelson's security clearance has defended his handling of the peer's vetting, and accused No 10 of a "dismissive attitude" towards the checks.

Sir Olly Robbins was effectively sacked as Foreign Office boss last week after it emerged his department had granted the peer clearance despite concerns raised by officials during the vetting process.

But appearing before a committee of MPs, Sir Olly insisted he had acted properly when approving the clearance - and was right not to tell the prime minister at the time.

Sir Keir Starmer has said it is "incredible" he was not informed about the result of the vetting assessment.

Lord Mandelson was announced as the UK's ambassador to the US in December 2024, with the peer then undergoing developed vetting (DV) to get his required security clearance for the role.

He formally took up the role the following month, but was sacked seven months later after further details emerged of his previous friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Sir Olly said his department then faced "constant pressure" from Downing Street to formally approve the appointment, with a "strong expectation" the former cabinet minister needed to be "in post and in America as quickly as humanly possible".

Having only started in the role two weeks before security clearance was granted, Sir Olly said his predecessor had briefed him that Downing Street felt vetting "might be unnecessary" for someone of Mandelson's status.

"A position taken from the Cabinet Office was that there was no need to vet Mandelson," he told the MPs.

"He was a member of the House of Lords, he was a privy councillor, the risks attending his appointment were well known, and had been made clear to the prime minister before appointment," he added.

"In the end the FCDO insisted and put its foot down, I understand my predecessor had to be very firm in person."

Although he declined to name anyone making these calls, Sir Olly said there was clearly a "dismissive approach" to the process but he was "confident that we were handling it well" and had not "bowed to pressure".

Sir Olly told MPs that the concerns flagged by UK Security Vetting (UKSV), the government agency that did Lord Mandelson's vetting, did not relate to his previous relationship with Epstein, but did not say what they were about.

Sir Keir told MPs in the Commons on Monday that he had not misled the House in telling them that "full due process" had been followed during Lord Mandelson's appointment.

But the prime minister insisted he would have acted differently had he been informed at the time about the results of the UKSV vetting.

Defending his actions, Sir Olly insisted that the Foreign Office had acted properly when approving the clearance.

"I was briefed that UKSV considered Mandelson a borderline case and that they were leaning towards recommending that clearance be denied, but that the Foreign Office's security department assessed that the risks identified as of highest concern by UKSV could be managed and/or mitigated.

"I was told that UKSV acknowledged, I don't know in what way, but acknowledged that the Foreign Office might wish to grant clearance with appropriate risk management."

Sir Olly also argued that telling the prime minister about any details of the vetting, other than the outcome of the process, was against the rules.

"I believe very strongly I had an obligation not to do that," he told the MPs.

"You are not supposed to share the findings and reports of UKSV, other than in the exceptional circumstances where doing so allows for the specific mitigation of risk."

He added that he had not himself seen the UKSV document recommending that clearance not be granted, instead being briefed verbally about it.

"What my team will have done, I'm sure, is break that down, go through the specific issues that have led UKSV to their concern, and then make an assessment as to whether they can be managed. And that's what came to me," he added.