Starmer aide sacked as Mandelson vetting scandal explodes

Starmer aide sacked as Mandelson vetting scandal explodes

Top Foreign Office Chief ‘Sacked’ As PM Faces Fresh Pressure

Keir Starmer is facing a deepening political crisis after the UK’s top Foreign Office official was effectively forced out over the explosive Peter Mandelson vetting scandal.

Sir Olly Robbins is understood to be leaving his post after Downing Street lost confidence in him — amid revelations that officials failed to tell the prime minister Mandelson had failed security vetting before being appointed US ambassador.

The extraordinary lapse has triggered fresh accusations of incompetence — and reignited calls for Starmer himself to resign.

‘Misled Parliament’ Row Engulfs Downing Street

The government has admitted neither Starmer nor ministers were aware Mandelson failed vetting until this week — despite the PM repeatedly insisting “full due process” had been followed.

That claim is now at the centre of a growing storm.

Under the ministerial code, knowingly misleading Parliament is a resigning matter — and critics say the prime minister now has serious questions to answer.

Appointment Overruled Despite Security Concerns

In a stunning revelation, the Foreign Office is said to have overruled the vetting agency and pushed ahead with Mandelson’s appointment anyway.

He formally took up the role in early 2025 — only to be sacked months later over links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The scandal has raised alarming questions about how such a high-profile diplomatic post was handed to someone who had not passed basic security checks.

Opposition Smells Blood

Rival parties have seized on the crisis — with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch delivering a brutal verdict.

She said Starmer must either have known and “lied” — or didn’t know and was “hopelessly incompetent.”

Others went further.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey accused the PM of breaching the ministerial code, while the SNP demanded a formal investigation into whether Parliament had been deliberately misled.

Pressure Mounts As Statement Looms

Starmer is now expected to face MPs and attempt to contain the fallout — but the damage is already done.

Even senior Labour figures have voiced frustration, with claims that key information about Mandelson’s failed vetting was withheld or obscured.

Behind the scenes, anger is said to be growing — with allies reportedly stunned by the scale of the failure.

A Government Under Fire

With a senior official gone, credibility shaken, and questions swirling at the very top, the Mandelson scandal is fast becoming a defining test of Starmer’s leadership.

And as more details emerge, the pressure is only heading in one direction.

Upwards.

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