Foreign Office’s top civil servant Olly Robbins forced out over Mandelson vetting row

Keir Starmer understood to have lost confidence in official over decision to override security vetting failure Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision Sir Olly Robbins, the UK Foreign Office’s top civil servant, has been forced out of his post after the decision to fail Peter Mandelson during his security vetting was overruled by his department. Robbins was the Foreign Office’s most senior official in late January 2025 when the decision was made, paving the way for Mandelson to become the US ambassador. The Guardian understands that Robbins was told he had to resign after prime minister Keir Starmer and foreign secretary Yvette Cooper lost confidence in the civil servant. The Guardian revealed on Thursday that Mandelson was initially denied clearance in late January 2025 after a developed vetting process, a highly confidential background check by security officials. Keir Starmer had by then announced he would be making Mandelson ambassador, posing a dilemma for officials at the Foreign Office, who decided to employ a rarely used authority to override the recommendation from security officials. Mandelson’s failure to secure vetting approval had not previ