Starmer Fires Robbins Over Mandelson Appointment

0:00On April 20, Sir Ali Robbins, the top civil servant at the foreign office, got fired by Prime Minister Keir Starmer over a security vetting issue, with Lord Mendelssohn's appointment as ambassador to Washington. The big question is why Ali didn't flag the concerns to the Prime Minister before the job was locked in last January. The appointment happened before Ali even started at the office, and civil service rules say vetting info stays confidential. But the government fired back Sunday night, saying nothing stops them from sharing key warnings sensibly. Tories of piling on in Parliament, joking Starmer has sacked more close allies than Henry the Eighth, and it might rattle labor MPs. Party insiders say the mood was cooling off, until this blew up again. Now reports say Ali is eyeing legal action after his dramatic dismissal. Document show, Mendelssohn had top-level Strap 3 clearance in his old role, but needed a fresh application for the new post, and he started, without full checks.

1:00All this leaves tough questions for Starmer, as he faces the Foreign Affairs Committee soon. With everyone watching how the civil service code plays, out to Gazantanos, Nye, and