Minister repeatedly refuses to say if Keir Starmer was proper to sack Olly Robbins
Keir Starmer had sacked Sir Olly last week after it emerged a recommendation from UK Security Vetting (UKSV) to deny Lord Mandelson high-level clearance had been overruled
Sir Olly Robbins was sacked by the PM(Image: PRU/AFP via Getty Images)
A senior Cabinet minister has refused to say the sacking of Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins was “fair” as pressure grows on Keir Starmer.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Pat McFadden insisted he supported the Prime Minister, but repeatedly failed to answer whether he thought the decision was “fair”.
The PM sacked Sir Olly last week after it emerged a recommendation from UK Security Vetting (UKSV) to deny Lord Mandelson high-level clearance had been overruled.
The ex-top official came out fighting on Tuesday after the Mr Starmer accused the Foreign Office of keeping him in the dark over questions on the shamed peer’s security clearance.
READ MORE: Angela Rayner outlines the ‘bold action’ needed from Keir Starmer over Iran war falloutREAD MORE: Keir Starmer’s Mandelson nightmare deepens as sacked Olly Robbins blasts No10 pressure
In bombshell evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Sir Olly said there was an atmosphere of “get this done” when he took up his post in January 2025, as the former Labour grandee had already been announced as the PM’s pick to be US ambassador in December 2024.
Now Mr McFadden has repeatedly declined to say he believed Mr Starmer’s sacking of top Foreign Office official Sir Olly was fair. Asked on Times Radio if the sacking felt fair, Mr McFadden said he thought “very highly” of Sir Olly but “I think if the Prime Minister’s made the judgment that he’s not got confidence in the head of the Foreign Office, the head of the foreign service, then it’s difficult to continue”. Asked again if it was fair, Mr McFadden said: “Look, it’s the Prime Minister’s judgment.”
Challenged to answer once more, Mr McFadden said: “As a Cabinet member, I ,support the Prime Minister’s decisions. He took the decision he couldn’t continue with Olly Robbins in post because he viewed the material that had been withheld from him, not shared with him, as really important in making this decision.”
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, has said the sacking had sent a “chill” through Whitehall. He warned: “Government only works when there is trust between ministers and civil servants”.
It came as Emily Thornberry warned Mr Starmer’s handling of the Peter Mandelson scandal has seen him “stumble back into the hole”. Asked about the PM’s future, Ms Thornberry praised changes made to his staff at Downing Street, but claimed it felt like Mr Starmer was slipping up.
She said: “I think that things had got better. I think the changes at Number 10, where it wasn’t so much a boys club anymore. I get the impression that he was a lot more relaxed, a lot more himself, he made the right decision on Iran, and it felt like he was digging himself out of a hole. This is obviously a stumble back into the hole again, I don’t know what’s going to happen next”.
