Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office chief sacked by Keir Starmer after the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, is in discussions with Andy Burnham’s team about a senior security role, the Guardian has learned. Just three months after he was fired for overturning a recommendation that Mandelson be denied security clearance, Robbins has held “early exploratory talks” with senior advisers to the newly elected Makerfield MP, and insiders suggest he could be appointed national security adviser.
Robbins lost the confidence of Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper following the Guardian’s disclosure that he had overruled a UK Security Vetting decision against Mandelson, who later lost his job over the extent of his links to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Questions still surround Robbins’ defence of the system and the lack of mitigations put in place to address the concerns, which included Mandelson’s associations with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel. The Foreign Office also refused to hand over a summary of the vetting to the official tasked with compiling documents for Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador.
“Olly Robbins, sacked over Mandelson vetting, is in talks with Andy Burnham’s team for national security adviser role.”
The talks come as the country braces for its seventh prime minister in a decade. The UK has had six prime ministers in the last ten years – with a seventh likely in place by as early as mid-July. David Cameron, the architect of much of the political chaos over that period, lit the touchpaper with austerity and a reckless EU referendum, according to a Guardian ranking of the PMs who have been booted out since 2016. “An economy made infinitely worse and a divided country that subsequent prime ministers would find almost ungovernable,” the analysis notes.
Despite the controversy, Robbins enjoys strong support within Whitehall. Senior civil servants believe he was effectively sacked for doing what No 10 wanted – swiftly passing Mandelson through vetting – and argue the focus should be on the prime minister’s initial decision. Robbins is understood to have been considering legal action against the government for damage to his reputation. Burnham’s team regards him as an “outstanding operator”.
The most likely post for Robbins in a Burnham-led Downing Street would be national security adviser, a senior Cabinet Office official. Any appointment would raise alarms among senior Labour figures, including some still in No 10, who lost confidence in him over the Mandelson affair.