Olly Robbins dropped bombs all over Westminster, but one villain alone must face prosecution - Nigel Nelson

Nigel Nelson
Tue, 21 Apr 2026 13:03:04 +0000
Membership

We will never know whether the people who vetted Peter Mandelson were former police officers, teachers or from an entirely different walk of life. Though cops or teachers seem to be MI5 faves.

The only qualifications the spooks insist on when recruiting for the UK Security Vetting agency are a friendly and welcoming personality to gain the trust of those they scrutinise and an ability to ask the right questions.

Qualities that would make GB News presenters ideal for the job should anyone be looking for a change of career.

Sacked Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Olly Robbins told us more about the baffling vetting process this morning than perhaps many of us wished to know.

Though Keir Starmer might have found it helpful had he been able to listen in before addressing MPs yesterday.

No10 says Mandelson failed security vetting, citing a document which ticked two red boxes, which made him unsuitable to be our US ambassador.

The PM says now he would never have appointed him had he known, and blames Sir Olly for not telling him. Sir Olly counters that such a conclusive document may be used by other government departments, but not in the Foreign Office.

What he got was far more nuanced, and therefore Peter Mandelson neither passed nor failed. He says Mandelson was a “borderline case”, though the UKSV was “leaning” towards not recommending the appointment. But that was not an outright thumbs down.

This left the final decision with the Foreign Office’s own security team. And the rules say they must not share the details with anyone, not even the prime minister, only telling Mr Starmer the outcome of their deliberations, which is exactly what Sir Olly did.

That is an opaquer version of events than the straightforward one the PM outlined yesterday. Sir Olly says he merely followed the rules laid down and was “desperately, desperately sad” to be fired for it.

He added: “I loved that job. I wish the people I led every success and wish I could still be with them.”

For a moment, it looked as if he might burst into tears.

This was not so much a select committee hearing and more like an industrial tribunal considering a case of unfair dismissal.

Which, Sir Olly hinted, is where this might end up. In the understated tones senior civil servants use when addressing politicians, Sir Olly nevertheless managed to drop several bombshells.

No10 had been “dismissive” of the whole vetting process.

Hell, the Cabinet Office had even questioned whether someone of such high standing as Peter Mandelson needed to be vetted at all.

Huge pressure was put on him to get our future ambassador to Washington as quickly as possible. Despite this, Sir Olly claims he went about his duties diligently, even withstanding the odd four-letter word flying in his direction from a frustrated Downing Street.

And that duty included keeping the PM in the dark.“Ministers were not consulted,” he explained. “Other than to be told the outcome.”

That was the one thing the PM and Sir Olly appear to agree on. But the ex-mandarin has provided Kemi Badenoch with enough ammunition to fill several PMQs, the first of which Mr Starmer must face tomorrow.

There is a clear difference of opinion between the Foreign Office and No10 about how the vetting system works, a “dangerous misunderstanding”, Sir Olly called it.

Should anyone else other than the PM be worried today? Oh yes, said Sir Olly. The person who leaked it to The Guardian last week. They need to be prosecuted.