How Olly Robbins’ knightly charm glossed over burning questions on Mandelson vetting

Robbins said he did not see the vetting file, which he described as sitting in a ‘hermetically sealed box’, and relied entirely on an ‘oral briefing’. Composite: UK Parliament

The verdict on Sir Olly Robbins’ parliamentary testimony, among fellow knights of the civil service realm at least, was unanimous. Mark Sedwill, a former cabinet secretary, called on the prime minister to “retract his accusations against Olly Robbins and reinstate him”.

Sir Simon McDonald, who once held Robbins’ job as top civil servant in the Foreign Office, said if Keir Starmer had only waited to hear his evidence to the foreign affairs select committee he would never have sacked him.