Robbins Spills on Mandelson's US Role Vetting Drama

0:00On April 21st, Sir Olly Robbins, the former top foreign office official, just testified before Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee about major. Drama in vetting Peter Mandelson for a key U.S. role. He got sacked by the Prime Minister last week for not revealing Mandelson's failed security checks, yet Mandelson still landed developed vetting. Clearance, anyway. Robbins pointed the finger at number 10, under Sir Keir Starmer, saying they pushed hard to rest the whole process. There was massive pressure to get Mandelson into position in America as fast as possible, creating what he called a lax vibe around the full checks. This all blew up after Robbins stepped into his permanent secretary role back in January 2025, when due diligence on Mandelson's. Reputation was already wrapped up by the cabinet office. He explained they gave Mandelson access to top secret briefings on a case-by-case basis, which fueled that speedy attitude from the top. At the heat, Robin stress his team stuck to the high standards and finished to develop

1:00vetting properly, leaving questions hanging on how. Number 10, handles these high stakes calls.