Fired former UK official says he felt political pressure to approve Mandelson as US ambassador

Former Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) boss Sir Olly Robbins appear before the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Houses of Parliament in London, Tuesday April 21, 2026. (House of Commons/UK Parliament via AP) 2026-04-21T08:17:20Z LONDON (AP) — The ex-civil servant behind the decision to approve Peter Mandelson ‘s appointment as British ambassador to Washington says he felt political pressure to rush through the appointment despite security concerns . Olly Robbins, former head of the Foreign Office, said those concerns did not relate to Mandelson’s relationship with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . He declined to say when questioned by lawmakers what led the government’s vetting agency to flag Mandelson as a potential security risk. Robbins said the vetting agency considered Mandelson a “borderline case” and was “leaning toward recommending against” giving him security clearance. The Foreign Office decided to clear him anyway. Robbins was fired by Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week over the decision. Starmer is facing questions about his own judgment, and calls to resign, over the appointment. Robbins told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday that there was an “atmosphere of pressure” coming from Starmer’s office. He said there was “a very, very strong expectation” that Mandelson “needed to be in post and in America as quickly as possible.” Robbins said there was “a generally dismissive attitude” to the security vetting in January 2025, before Mandelson went to Washington. Starmer acknowledged on Monday that he made the wrong judgment when he picked Mandelson for the job. But he said he would have withdrawn the appointment if he’d known about the security vetting. (