Co-conspirators will have noticed Starmer and his ministers beginning to direct blame onto the officials responsible for vetting Mandelson. Shameless…
This is a deliberate strategy. Guido hears after this week’s crisis meetings senior Downing Street are attempting to target FCDO permanent secretary Olly Robbins for signing off on Mandelson’s appointment despite there being doubtful material in the vetting. The argument will be that it was a decision for him and not the PM. Which is complete b*******…
Guido hears Downing Street’s strategic masterminds are also looking for a way to put blame on the then head of the Propriety and Ethics team Darren Tierney. This is more difficult – a government source says “the diligence note made clear what was known at the time and it was Keir’s judgement…” Whether this wheeze will be swallowed by furious Labour MPs into the weekend is unclear…
Those familiar with Mandelson’s appointment process will remember that Morgan McSweeney went out of his way to push it through the blob – putting hours into meetings with the PET team and FCDO to get his mentor through the door. The people Morgan tried to sideline are now to be blamed…
There was a time not long ago when Starmer boasted about ‘carrying the can’ in any organisation that he leads. He said of his time with his staff as DPP: “When they made mistakes, I carried the can. I never turn on my staff and you should never turn on your staff… I will carry the can for mistakes of any organisation I lead.” Can anyone remember if his nose grew to the size of the Golden Gate Bridge when he said that…
Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald has defended the conduct of civil servants in the appointment process of Peter Mandelson. Which was a direct ministerial appointment, the minister being one Keir Starmer…
Wormald was asked at the Foreign Affairs Committee to clarify that there is a section in the report presented on a possible appointment, which includes a section on news reporting. Including news reporting into Mandelson’s stay at Epstein’s flat as he was serving 18-month prison sentence…
Asked: “in this case the Prime Minister did receive a report that highlighted that relationship and it was up to him to make a decision based on the information…” Wormald said: “For a direct ministerial appointment that is the process.” Olly Robbins was at pains to stress that the PM wanted Mandelson and Foreign Office officials just went through the motions to action this…
In a classic example of Civil Service HR blockage, Robbins and Wormald justified not telling the PM anything about the Bloomberg story other than that there was a media inquiry about Mandelson which was being “clarified” and issues that “needed to be looked into” before he went into PMQs to provide his full confidence in the ambassador. Farcical…
Olly Robbins also said no one shared the full Bloomberg email contents with No10. He claimed he said it would be best dealt with as a “management issue.” Whose SpAds will have not got over that one…
You’d think that considering the recognition of Palestine as a state and slapping unprecedented sanctions on Israeli politicians would have pro-Palestine foreign office staff cheering to the gilded rafters. Under Starmer and Lammy, UK policy on Palestine has shifted significantly. But no…
In fact, hundreds of UK diplomats are in near open revolt over Lammy’s position on Israel – which they expressed in a letter directly challenging UK government policy. The top two mandarins in the department, Oliver Robbins and Nick Dyer, have responded (the full letter was obtained by Novara Media). The document suggests a variety of ways that pro-Palestine officials can dodge having to work on the issue – such as telling line-managers they fear their families might be under threat (are there really that many Palestinians working for the FCDO?), speaking to counsellors, or complaining to the Civil Service Commission. All this bureaucratic nonsense must be wasting a lot of time and money…
Only after this shenanigans do Robbins and Dyer get to the point: “if your disagreement with any aspect of Government policy is profound your ultimate recourse is to resign from the civil service.” Robbins himself quit the former Department for Exiting the EU…
Olly Robbins has just now been confirmed as new Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCDO. The Sue Gray ally missed out on the prized CabSec gig…
The arch-remainer will replace Philip Barton who is stepping down. Lammy says Robbins is “exactly the person” to help him “rewire the FCDO to act as the international delivery arm of this government’s missions.” Will the Cabinet Office EU surrender unit, made up in large part of FCDO officials, soon fall into his control? Co-conspirators will remember Robbins’ May-era Brexit shenanigans well, including completely trashing May’s public line on no-deal. Did he ever get that Belgian citizenship off Guy Verhofstadt then?
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.”