Olly Robbins payout: ex-Foreign Office head gets six-figure settlement over Mandelson vetting sacking
Olly Robbins, the former head of the Foreign Office sacked by Keir Starmer over his role in Peter Mandelson's vetting, has received a six-figure payout from the government. The settlement comes after Robbins applied to the high court for a judicial review of his April dismissal.
Olly Robbins payout: ex-Foreign Office head gets six-figure settlement over Mandelson vetting sacking
The six-figure settlement ends a dispute that began when the prime minister removed the Foreign Office's most senior civil servant over the vetting of Peter Mandelson. Robbins had applied to the high court for a judicial review of Keir Starmer's decision to dismiss him in April from his post as top civil servant at the Foreign Office.
Why Robbins was sacked
Starmer acted after it emerged that Robbins had overturned a recommendation from UK Security Vetting (UKSV) to deny clearance for Mandelson. Mandelson was himself sacked over the extent of his links to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Downing Street said at the time that Robbins had lost the confidence of Starmer and Yvette Cooper, then foreign secretary, because of his handling of the vetting. UKSV's concerns about Mandelson later proved to include his associations with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel - his Epstein relationship was not among the reasons clearance was refused.
Legal challenge and settlement
Court papers lodged by Robbins made three central claims: that the prime minister lacked the statutory power to remove the head of the diplomatic service, that the dismissal was carried out without any fair or indeed any procedure, and that the grounds offered for it did not stand up to reason.
In a statement on Friday, Robbins said he was grateful for all the support and good wishes from former colleagues, friends and strangers, which have helped him and his family during a difficult time.
I want to thank the FDA [union] for their assistance in reaching this settlement.
Robbins also said he is looking forward to moving on to the next chapter, crediting the FDA union for helping bring about the deal.
FDA union response
FDA general secretary Dave Penman said the settlement may bring an end to the judicial review proceedings, but warned the affair had damaged the bond of trust between civil servants and ministers.
Penman described the scapegoating of Sir Oliver, to mask the misjudgment of the previous prime minister, as one of the lowest points in the recent history of civil service-ministerial relations. He urged the government to clarify quickly the issues raised over ministerial involvement in the vetting process.
What is still unclear
The exact amount of the payout must eventually be published, and it is believed to be six figures but less than a record settlement paid to another ousted official.
- Former cabinet secretary Chris Wormald received a record £860,000 after Starmer forced him out following just a year in post.
- Senior civil servants were reported to believe that in passing Mandelson swiftly through vetting, Robbins had in effect been sacked for doing what No 10 wanted, while attention was wrongly diverted from the prime minister's initial decision.
- The Commons foreign affairs select committee has previously concluded that Robbins thought he was delivering the outcome that was wanted, and that the decision to dismiss him appears to have been reached without full due process and the establishment of the facts.
- Questions remain about the defence Robbins mounted of his own actions and of the vetting system, and about the lack of mitigation put in place to work around the security concerns.
- Despite a Commons motion forcing the release of documents on Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the US, the Foreign Office declined to give the official compiling them a summary of the security vetting he underwent.
