Keir Starmer’s decision to fire Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins has contributed to “one of the worst crises in relations” between ministers and civil servants in modern times. The words of former cabinet secretary Gus O'Donnell, writing after Robbins was sacked for declining to inform Starmer that Peter Mandelson failed vetting for his ambassador role, are a stark warning for the prime minister.
Such a crisis has been building for some time. Historically, British civil servants and ministers had a strong bond based on a mutually beneficial partnership. Yet that partnership is badly frayed, and in its place a “them v us” relationship is emerging.
