Olly Robbins: “At the point of his appointment it was not actually a given he would be vetted… there was not stipulation from No 10 that he should be vetted”

The former top official at the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins, says No 10 had a “dismissive approach” to Lord Mandelson’s vetting

He was sacked after the PM discovered Robbins did not tell him that Mandelson had failed the vetting process to be the US ambassador – timeline of events

Robbins tells the Foreign Affairs Select Committee there was an “atmosphere of pressure” and a “very strong expectation” from No 10 that Mandelson should be “in post and in America” as quickly as possible

It comes after Keir Starmer said officials made a “deliberate decision” not to tell him that Mandelson had failed security vetting