Divisions emerge in Keir Starmer’s cabinet over his sacking of Olly Robbins

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PM under increasing pressure over Mandelson vetting scandal as sources say ministers spoke up at tense meeting

Keir Starmer is looking increasingly isolated over his handling of the Peter Mandelson scandal with divisions emerging in cabinet over his decision to sack the Foreign Office civil servant Olly Robbins.

On another difficult day for the prime minister, the Guardian learned of concerns around the cabinet table, a senior minister refused to say the dismissal was fair and several mandarins called for him to be reinstated. One Labour MP called on Starmer to quit.

The scrutiny will continue on Thursday as MPs grill Cat Little, the permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office, over the decision to install Mandelson as Washington ambassador contrary to the advice of vetting officials.

Some senior Labour MPs say the prime minister is now living on borrowed time as he continues to come under fire over his decision to appoint the former Labour peer. One minister said: “Keir’s departure is already baked in. In the meantime, I’ve got very used to compartmentalising trauma.”

Another said of the atmosphere: “It’s weirdly resigned and everyone is sort of gallows humour and depressed.”

The mood has darkened within the Labour party since the Guardian revealed last week that Mandelson was appointed despite a recommendation from vetting officials that he be denied security clearance.

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The revelation has reinforced the feeling among many Labour MPs and some ministers that Starmer showed poor political judgment by appointing him in the first place. Those concerns have been exacerbated by the prime minister’s decision to sack Robbins within hours of the Guardian’s story being published.

Robbins confirmed to a committee of MPs on Tuesday that he had not told Downing Street about the vetting concerns, which was the reason Starmer sacked him. The prime minister told the Commons on Wednesday: “Before Mandelson took up his post, [UK Security Vetting] recommended with red flags that clearance should be denied, and there was high concern.

“That that was not brought to my attention, or to the attention of the foreign secretary at the time or subsequently, is a very serious error of judgment, and anyone in my position would have lost confidence in the former permanent secretary.”

Robbins’ composed appearance in front of the committee however – during which he described the “atmosphere of pressure” imposed by No 10 to confirm Mandelson in post – has persuaded some in Labour that Starmer was wrong to fire him so quickly.

Several cabinet ministers spoke out about that decision during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday described by one source as “gloomy”. Those who intervened included the deputy prime minister, David Lammy, who warned against creating a “them and us” mentality between ministers and officials.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is understood to have questioned whether it was justifiable to sack Robbins and then to praise him as an outstanding civil servant. One person who attended said Mahmood’s complaint was more about the praise being paid to him rather than the decision to sack him.

Three others, including the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, urged the prime minister not to pick fights with officials and instead to keep them “on side” – a position with which Starmer agreed.

One senior cabinet minister is understood to believe that the top official should not have been sacked, but should have been suspended instead until all the facts were available.

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Meanwhile, Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, repeatedly declined to say on Wednesday whether he thought Robbins’ sacking was fair. “I think very highly of him,” he told Times Radio. “If the prime minister has made the judgment that he’s not got confidence in the head of the Foreign Office, then it’s difficult to continue.”

McFadden is understood not to be one of those who intervened during the cabinet debate on Tuesday. One source said: “There was a lengthy discussion in cabinet about the fallout from Robbins’ departure. There were questions about how we were supposed to justify this to others given we were also saying what an honourable civil servant he was.”

Some former mandarins are now calling for Starmer to reinstate Robbins. Simon McDonald, one of Robbins’ predecessors at the Foreign Office, wrote in the Guardian on Wednesday that the prime minister had “rush[ed] to a wrong judgment”.

The former cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill wrote a letter to the Times saying: “The prime minister should retract his accusations against Olly Robbins and reinstate him to the job the country needs him to do.”

According to a readout from Downing Street, the prime minister told cabinet Robbins “made an error of judgment, but … is a man of integrity and professionalism”, adding: “There are thousands of hard-working civil servants across the country who are full of integrity, doing excellent work every day with a profound sense of public duty.”

One person who attended cabinet said the prime minister had spoken first and several others had agreed with him, both about Robbins’ integrity and the importance of keeping the civil service on board.

Some in government warn that Whitehall is already in a mutinous mood. One front-bencher said: “Civil servants are openly saying why bother execute orders when they know there will be a new cast list soon.”

The pressure is unlikely to break in the coming days as MPs continue to pick over the decision to appoint Mandelson. On Thursday, Little, the lead civil servant at the Cabinet Office, will testify in front of the foreign affairs select committee.

She will be followed next Tuesday by Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister’s former chief of staff.

• Keir Starmer
• Civil service
• Labour
• Peter Mandelson
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