Foreign Office’s top civil servant Olly Robbins to leave post over Mandelson vetting row

Keir Starmer understood to have lost confidence in official over decision to override security vetting failure Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision Sir Olly Robbins, the UK Foreign Office’s top civil servant, is leaving his post after the decision to fail Peter Mandelson during his security vetting was overruled by his department. Robbins was the Foreign Office’s most senior official in late January 2025 when the decision was made, paving the way for Mandelson to become