The former civil servant who oversaw the approval of Peter Mandelson’s appointment as Britain’s ambassador to Washington has said he felt “political pressure” to fast-track the decision despite "security concerns."
Olly Robbins, the former head of the Foreign Office was dismissed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week amid a widening scandal that has prompted calls for the prime minister’s resignation. Mandelson was removed from his post in September last year, just nine months into the job, after further details emerged about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted US sex offender who died in prison in 2019.
