Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 21, 2026
1 min readLast updated: April 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleOlly Robbins, the UK Foreign Office’s top civil servant, testified that his office was under intense pressure during January 2025 from the Prime Minister’s private office to expedite Peter Mandelson’s U.S. ambassadorship despite pending security clearance. Sciences reveal that Mandelson had failed v
LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - The former top official in Britain's foreign ministry who was sacked over Peter Mandelson's appointment as U.S. ambassador said on Tuesday he had come under a lot of pressure from the prime minister's private office to resolve his security clearance quickly.
Olly Robbins told a parliamentary select committee there was a "very strong" expectation that Mandelson needed to be in post as soon as possible.
"The focus was on getting Mandelson out to Washington quickly," he said.
"I think throughout January, honestly, my office, the foreign secretary's office, were under constant pressure," Robbins said. "There was an atmosphere of constant chasing."
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Sam Tabahriti; writing by Muvija M)
Olly Robbins, the former top official in Britain's foreign ministry, was pressured to resolve Mandelson's security clearance quickly.
The prime minister's private office applied constant pressure on Robbins and his team to get Mandelson approved for the post quickly.
There was a strong expectation that Mandelson needed to be in post in Washington as soon as possible.
Robbins described an atmosphere of constant chasing and substantial pressure from multiple offices to clear Mandelson’s appointment.
The article was reported by Sarah Young and Sam Tabahriti and written by Muvija M.
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