The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has been accused of creating a “real chill throughout the civil service” after sacking the lead civil servant in the Foreign Office over the Lord Peter Mandelson vetting controversy.
Sir Olly Robbins, who gave evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday, was removed last week as permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office. Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA trade union, told BBC Newsnight: “I think the prime minister is losing the ability to work with the civil service.” He added: “Who in the civil service would now think they would be immune from when it is politically expedient to be dismissed?”
“That’s not a place any government wants to be because it doesn’t deliver for the people of the country,” Penman said.
On Monday, Sir Keir sought to play down any sense of a rupture, telling MPs: “We have thousands of civil servants who act with integrity and professionalism every day.”
The dispute between Downing Street and the union representing senior civil servants is the latest fault line to emerge from revelations about Lord Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to Washington last year. Supporters of the prime minister argue Sir Olly’s testimony vindicated that Sir Keir did not know the vetting details or the conclusions Sir Olly had been briefed on. Sir Olly told MPs he withheld information to protect the integrity of the vetting system.
Dame Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP who chairs the select committee, said after the hearing she had concluded it was right that Sir Olly had lost his job.
This is the seventh consecutive day that fallout from the Lord Mandelson saga has caused problems for the prime minister, and the episode is only one chapter of a wider story. The minutiae of Sir Keir’s most politically significant decision in office are being dissected publicly — at the select committee, in the Commons and in the press.
The elements of a judgment call Sir Keir now accepts he got catastrophically wrong are under daily scrutiny. Plans for announcements and campaign events that Labour colleagues in Scotland, Wales and across England might want to focus on have been eclipsed by the ongoing conversation about Lord Mandelson.
Sir Olly, dismissed by Downing Street in recent days, responded with a measured critique of its judgment, fairness and sense of proportion. Meanwhile, critics have also attacked his judgment, creating a circular contest over credibility.
With Prime Minister’s Questions imminent and further documents about Lord Mandelson’s appointment expected in the coming weeks, the problem Sir Keir faces shows little sign of abating.
