Mandelson latest: Farage accuses PM of using ousted civil servant as ‘sacrificial lamb’ in vetting row

The prime minister is facing calls to resign from the opposition parties
Sir Keir Starmer is under further pressure over Lord Peter Mandelson 's appointment as ambassador to the US after it was revealed the Foreign Office overruled security vetting.

The prime minister is facing calls to resign and follow in the footsteps of Sir Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office’s most senior civil servant, who was confirmed to be leaving his role on Thursday over the revelations .

Sir Keir has previously insisted due process was followed in the appointment, and that Lord Mandelson had lied about the extent of his links with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein .

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is leading the calls for Sir Keir’s resignation following the latest discovery.

She said: “If he has misled parliament, as it looks like he has, he should resign.

“If he has broken the ministerial code, as it looks like he has, he should resign.

If he withheld documents by a cover-up from parliament, he should resign.”
Darren Jones, the prime minister’s chief secretary, said it was “astonishing” and unacceptable that the Foreign Office was able to overrule the vetting process for Lord Mandelson, and Sir Keir is “furious”.

Who was Olly Robbins?

The top civil servant ousted over Mandelson vetting row
Sir Olly Robbins, the Foreign Office’s most senior civil servant, left his role yesterday following revelations about Lord Peter Mandelson’s vetting process.

The civil servant was appointed in January last year, a month after Mandelson’s appointment had been confirmed.

It is understood that Sir Keir Starmer and foreign secretary Yvette Cooper have expressed a loss of confidence in Sir Olly, the permanent under-secretary.

Sir Olly came from a role in a global strategic advisory firm, where he was partner and head of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Hakluyt.

At the time of his appointment, David Lammy said: “I have set out from day one that I want to rewire the FCDO to act as the international delivery arm of this government’s missions, as well as devising our broader international strategy.

“Olly Robbins is exactly the person to help me deliver this and I am delighted to welcome him into the FCDO.”
Analysis by Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin :
The appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador was supposed to solve problems for Keir Starmer - allowing a Prime Minister critics claim is not political enough to have a highly political ally in Washington dealing with a difficult White House.

But, not for the first time, the decision has put the PM’s job in peril.

The government's official line this morning is that the latest scandal is a “failure of state”.

And so the chief Mandarin at the foreign office has been fired.

Another defence of Sir Keir is that the public need a credible leader in a time of war.

It would be extraordinary if Sir Keir was forced out at such a movement of global instability and before next month’s local elections, widely expected to be disastrous for Labour.

But the anger of Labour MPs over the Mandelson scandal cannot be underestimated.

And blaming the state does not get around a fundamental problem for the Prime Minister - even if he did not know, he should have.

How do dodgy political appointments like Mandelson actually happen?

How do unwise political appointments, of all shapes and sizes, happen?

In this In The Room clip from last month, former deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara and ex-No 10 adviser Cleo Watson discuss the (not always perfect) process behind vetting.

Why was Peter Mandelson arrested and what is his history with Labour and Starmer?

Why was Peter Mandelson arrested?

The day must end with Starmer resigning, says Polanksi
There is no way today should end without Keir Starmer’s resignation, the Green Party leader has stated.

Zach Polanksi said: “Any other outcome would an absurd scenario where this Labour Government - and all in it - would be laughing in our faces.

“The ethics and morality are it are an important question.

Just as vital and urgent is the fact it's all such a distraction.

“We have sky high bills and an energy crisis - we need to end Rip Off Britain.

All attention needs to be on a Government capable of doing the basics.”
Farage accuses Starmer of using sacked civil servant as ‘sacrificial lamb’
The Independent’s political journalist Athena Stavrou reports:
The Foreign Office’s top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins was effectively sacked after the revelation that officials took the rare step of overruling the recommendation from UK Security Vetting to clear Lord Peter Mandelson.

But the Reform UK leader suggested “there is no way” Sir Olly would have overruled security service advice alone, describing him as “one of the most professional civil servants in this country”.

He called for a “full-scale investigation” into the matter, and added the government’s explanation is: “Just not credible, not believable in any way at all.

I am in absolutely no doubt in my mind that this prime minister misled the House of Commons and lied to the country outside of the House of Commons.”
Badenoch: Everyone involved in Mandelson scandal is gone - except Starmer
Kemi Badenoch has said everyone involved in the Mandelson scandal is now except for Starmer, as she calls for him to resign.

In a post on social media, the Tory leader wrote: “Keir Starmer has now sacked everyone involved in Mandelson’s appointment - Chris Wormald, Morgan McSweeney, Olly Robbins.

“But Starmer was ultimately the one who approved it.

He’s got no one left to sack.

It’s time for him to take responsibility.

He should go.”
Keir Starmer has now sacked everyone involved in Mandelson’s appointment - Chris Wormald, Morgan McSweeney, Olly Robbins.

But Starmer was ultimately the one who approved it.

He’s got no one left to sack.

It’s time for him to take responsibility.

He should go.

https://t.co/KDLG1wHaMI — Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) April 17, 2026
'I know he is lying’: Badenoch accuses Starmer of ‘taking us for fools’ over Mandelson vetting scandal
Kemi Badenoch has accused the prime minister of continuous lying over the decision to appoint Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

The Conservative Party leader said Sir Keir Starmer’s story “does not stack up” as she accused him of “taking us for fools”.

She argued it is "completely preposterous" that the prime minister had not been told that Lord Mandelson's clearance had not been advised by security service.

“It doesn't matter what story the prime minister is telling, at some point there is deliberate dishonesty, whether it's the cover up story or the original story,” she told LBC.

“It can't all be true.

That's why I know that he is lying.”
Top civil servant is the 'sacrificial lamb', says Farage
He told LBC: “None of this adds up, the idea they weren't told about the vetting.

“Remember, in the House of Commons, Starmer actually said that the vetting had told him about the ongoing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, then outside of the House, in Hastings, he gave a speech in which he said that Mandelson had cleared security vetting.

Starmer was right to say Mandelson passed vetting procedures, says Jones
Keir Starmer was right to say Peter Mandelson had cleared security vetting procedures when he had been asked previously, Darren Jones has said.

“The Prime Minister was right...

because the security and vetting process had been conducted and the Foreign Office granted what's called developed vetting status to allow for Peter Mandelson's appointment, so he had been through the process and he had been cleared by the Foreign Office to start the role, so the prime minister was right about that,” he told BBC.

“What the prime minister was not told until Tuesday evening this week was that the Foreign Office's decision to give that developed vetting status, and to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador, was against the recommendations of security and vetting officials.”
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