It’s not every day a former Permanent Under-Secretary gets hauled before a parliamentary committee, but Sir Olly Robbins is about to find out exactly what that feels like.
The ex-Foreign Office chief, who was quietly pushed out last month amid a growing row over security arrangements surrounding British ambassador Peter Mandelson, is expected to face pointed questions from the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday. And by all accounts, MPs are not planning to go easy on him.
The controversy centres on concerns raised internally about the vetting and oversight procedures around Mandelson’s appointment and subsequent conduct in Washington. Robbins, as the senior official responsible for the Foreign Office’s administrative machinery, has found himself squarely in the firing line.
Sources close to the committee suggest members are particularly keen to establish exactly when ministers were informed of any security concerns, and whether proper protocols were followed or quietly shelved to avoid an awkward diplomatic moment.
Mandelson, who was appointed US ambassador in November 2024, has already attracted scrutiny over his extensive business connections and his previous links to figures in both Washington and Beijing. The idea that security questions may have been handled sloppily, or worse, deliberately downplayed, is what’s really rattling cage doors in Westminster.
Robbins is no stranger to controversy. He was the civil servant at the heart of Theresa May’s Brexit negotiations, a role that earned him both fierce admirers and equally fierce critics. He knows how to handle a committee room; he’s sat across from hostile MPs before.
But this is different. Being grilled over Brexit is one thing. Being asked whether national security procedures were compromised for political convenience is quite another.
The Foreign Office has insisted all proper processes were followed, though that line is becoming harder to sustain the more details trickle out. A spokesperson declined to comment specifically on what Robbins is expected to say on Tuesday.
Whatever he does say, it’s unlikely to be the last word. With the Mandelson appointment continuing to generate heat on both sides of the Atlantic, the real question isn’t what Robbins knew. It’s who else knew it, and when.
