Sacked Foreign Office chief describes 'pressure' from No 10 and 'dismissive' attitude to Mandelson vetting

This live page has now closed - read more on this story here The former top official at the Foreign Office, Olly Robbins, says No 10 had a "dismissive" approach to Lord Mandelson's vetting Robbins was sacked after the prime minister discovered he did not tell him that Mandelson had failed the vetting process to be the US ambassador - a timeline of events Earlier, Robbins gave two-and-a-half hours of evidence about the process to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee - here's a recap of what he said and you can read the key takeaways here Robbins still believes that he and the Foreign Office made the correct decision - the PM's position is the exact opposite, writes Henry Zeffman Downing Street denies showing a "dismissive" approach to the vetting, and says Robbins made an "error of judgement" In an emergency Commons debate about Mandelson's appointment, the Tories and SNP call for a no confidence vote in the prime minister Most Labour backbenchers have chosen not to turn up to the emergency debate, but in private there's further frustration about today's events, writes Jack Fenwick A couple of hours-long Parliamentary sessions have dominated UK politics today. Tuesday opened with a