Britain’s former top Foreign Office official has launched legal action against Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his dismissal, deepening a row that grew out of the troubled appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
Olly Robbins, who was removed as permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office and head of the diplomatic service in April 2026, has requested a judicial review of the decision. He is being represented by the FDA union, which speaks for senior civil servants.
The submission argued that Starmer had no statutory authority to remove the head of the diplomatic service, and that there had been no proper procedure behind the sacking. The union said the dismissal was “based on a grievous misunderstanding” of how security vetting works.
Robbins said he was bringing the action reluctantly, adding that it would have been unnecessary had the Prime Minister apologised. He said he was asking the courts to find Starmer’s decisions “unlawful, unreasonable” and to quash them.
The dispute stems from the vetting of Mandelson, whom Starmer and then foreign secretary David Lammy announced as ambassador to Washington in December 2024. UK Security Vetting recommended against clearance in January 2025, but the Foreign Office overruled that advice and the appointment went ahead.
Robbins has said he was barred from disclosing details of the confidential vetting process to ministers, who are informed only of the final outcome. The FDA said the process was independent of the government, and that its most senior officials should not be removable on a whim.
Mandelson was withdrawn as ambassador in September 2025 after the release of emails detailing his relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The government said the messages showed the association was more extensive than known when he was appointed.
Starmer has defended sacking Robbins, saying the evidence “puts to bed all the allegations levelled at me”. He has argued that the official withheld information about the vetting.
The affair has been among the most damaging episodes of Starmer’s premiership, which has been marked by a string of departures among his closest officials.
The Prime Minister announced his resignation in June 2026, saying he would leave office once the Labour Party had chosen a successor. The contest to replace him is under way.
