Revelations from Sir Olly Robbins only heap more pressure on Starmer
More and more questions are being raised about the Prime Minister’s leadership as the Mandelson scandal continues to plague the Government.
Sir Olly Robbins, the former top civil servant at the Foreign Office, who was sacked by Sir Keir Starmer last week for not disclosing Lord Peter Mandelson had failed security checks but was granted developed vetting (DV) clearance anyway, appeared before MPs at the Foreign Affairs Committee.
His appearance has only heaped further pressure on the beleaguered Prime Minister. Sir Olly said there was a “dismissive approach” to Mandelson’s security vetting from No 10 with an “atmosphere of pressure” to get the appointment through.
On top of that, there was the revelation that Downing Street considered making Sir Keir Starmer’s former director of communications Lord Matthew Doyle an ambassador. And that it was not to be discussed with the then-foreign secretary.
Lord Doyle had the Labour whip withdrawn earlier this year after it emerged he had campaigned on behalf of a friend who had been charged with possessing indecent images of children.
It points to a rot at Number 10, for which the Prime Minister is ultimately responsible. His mis-steps have damaged the Labour Government’s relationship with voters to such an extent that YouGov polling released yesterday suggests that the party has slipped into fourth place.
The local elections were going to be difficult, as they usually are for the party in government, but there’s a real sense that this could be a bloodbath for Labour. This scandal will only drive more voters away.