Over to Sir Olly...
Officials should never judge political appointments. Now a turkey of a Prime Minister will drift on with a system set against him.
Peter Mandelson was a political appointee to what is usually an official position. There is no doubt Mandelson is who Keir Starmer and his No10 team resolutely wanted. Starmer apologised for the misjudgement in his statement on Monday.
Ambassadors would usually be career diplomats, likely with longstanding developed vetting (DV). I imagine the system recoiled when it was proposed to appoint a controversial former Secretary of State to a plum role and then insisted on DV, a check it seems to me he was not likely to pass easily given his business interests in Russia and China, previous questions about his finances and his links to Epstein.
It was a terrible misjudgement by this Prime Minister but no doubt it was insisted upon. His resolve placed officials – particularly the Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins – in an impossible position: how could they refuse a resolute Prime Minister?
Having sacked Sir Olly Robbins, Sir Keir Starmer has now picked a fight with senior officials and a system which goes to immense lengths to avoid these risks crystallising and uphold propriety. It means even if he survives this week, he will now be a turkey waddling on to Christmas.
What are the factors at work?
