On Thursday Keir Starmer dramatically sacked Sir Olly Robbins – who was previously Tony Blair’s principle private secretary – as head of the Foreign Office, having appointed him the previous year
Since his dramatic sacking last week, Sir Olly Robbins has faced the brunt of the British state’s anger.
For half his life, the 51-year-old has been a key figure behind the scenes in Whitehall, prompting allies to say he has “public service stitched into his DNA”. But on Monday Keir Starmer stood up in Parliament and accused him of deliberately withholding information about Peter Mandelson’s vetting, which he branded unforgivable.
He was sacked as head of the Foreign Office on Thursday, hours after the revelation became public, having been appointed by the PM the previous January. In a dramatic grilling, he claimed it was not a given that Mandelson would even be vetted – and also claimed he was asked to find a job for Matthew Doyle, one of Mr Starmer’s key aides.
The Oxford-educated civil servant was a central figure behind former prime minister Theresa May ’s troubled Brexit deal. During negotiations with the EU he faced constant criticism from all sides, with Eurosceptics continually accusing him of blocking progress.
READ MORE: Olly Robbins piles pressure on PM amid claims No10 said ‘just f***ing approve’ MandelsonREAD MORE: 10 major points as Keir Starmer says Peter Mandelson vetting scandal ‘beggars belief’
He took the contentious role midway through talks, after then-Brexit secretary David Davis was sidelined. The ensuing deal was rejected repeatedly by the Commons.
Before his Brexit fame, he had worked for every prime minister since Sir Tony Blair, gaining a reputation as an influential but low-profile public servant.
He joined the Treasury in 1996, and rose steadily through the ranks before Sir Tony made him his principal private secretary – a crucial role at the heart of No10.
After the 2010 general election, then-prime minister David Cameron made Sir Olly deputy national security adviser, where he was responsible for intelligence, security and resilience. Duties included handling the huge data leak by US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, which included classified documents relating to the CIA and GCHQ.
He left government in 2019, before Boris Johnson took office, and worked for Goldman Sachs as a managing director of the bank’s investment banking division. Sir Olly was knighted in Baroness May’s resignation honours.
He was brought back into Government in January 2025, when Mr Starmer appointed him head of the Foreign Office. He had been in the job just three weeks when Peter Mandelson became US Ambassador.
In a furious Commons attack, the PM said he had sacked him for “deliberately” keeping him in the dark over the vetting. He said he was “desperately, desperately sad” to be given the boot, telling MPs: ““I love that job, I love that institution, I was proud to serve this Government and any government that might follow it.
“I just feel intensely proud of the people I’ve led and I wish them every success, and wish I could still be with them.”