An excruciating morning round for Pat McFadden. First on Times Radio, where he was asked three times if it was “fair” for Starmer to sack Olly Robbins. Eventually, the blood from a stone answer came:
“Look, of course as a Cabinet member, I support the Prime Minister’s decisions. He took the decision he couldn’t continue with Olly Robbins in post because he viewed the material that had been withheld from him, not shared with him, as really important in making his decision…”
Then on Sky News, it turned out McFadden hadn’t even asked Number 10 if it was true that Starmer asked for an ambassadorship for Matthew Doyle. It took almost three minutes for an answer to emerge:
“No, because I don’t think the Prime Minister would be in the position of picking up a phone on a personnel matter like that…”
You know it’s bad when even Pat McFadden is dropping word salads…
Olly Robbins is out at the FCDO. The runners and riders:
There were some suggestions swirling around the FCDO that the next permanent secretary should be a woman seeing as none had ever occupied the role. Sources say David Lammy was keen on the idea when he held the Foreign Secretary post…
Olly Robbins has just revealed that Downing Street tried to find an ambassadorial job for Starmer’s then-Comms chief Matthew Doyle. And instructed Robbins not to tell David Lammy, who happened to be the Foreign Secretary…
“There were several discussions initiated by Number 10 with me about potentially finding a head of mission opportunity for Matthew Doyle, who was then the Number 10 Head of Communications, and I was under strict instruction not to discuss that with the then-Foreign Secretary which was uncomfortable. But the context here […] I was still in my early months in the job, but I’d already concluded […] that the Foreign Office needed quite serious reform… I found it very hard to think how I would explain to the office what the credentials were of Matthew Doyle to be in an important head of mission role…”
Robbins stressed repeatedly the point that he was “uncomfortable” finding a job for Doyle given his lack of credentials. Of course it would later emerge that Doyle campaigned for convicted sex offender Sean Morton, which Number 10 seemed sanguine about…
Olly Robbins is offering his “blockbuster” defence against Starmer at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee right now. Round two…
Labour sources are bullish on Starmer’s chances after this first round showdown with Olly Robbins. He’s fighting for survival…
Starmer: “This statement will focus on the process surrounding Peter Mandelson’s vetting and appointment at the heart of this was a decision I made which was wrong. I apologise again to the victims of Epstein who were failed by my decision.”
PM claims that the usual process is for UKSV vetting happen after a political appointment is announced and adds: “I simply do not accept that foreign office officials could not have told me of UKSV’s recommendations.”
Starmer says former Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald wasn’t made aware of the failed vetting either when he conducted an investigation into the Mandelson saga in September.
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has confirmed it will see Olly Robbins at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Sacked Robbins is planning to fight…
Friends of his say “heartbroken” Robbins is seeking legal advice on his being sacked in a panic by No10 last week. His additional testimony tomorrow could blow a hole in Starmer’s cobweb of excuses to be laid out in the Commons this afternoon…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”