The State Of It: Starmer picks a fight with the wrong guy
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 21 April 2026
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sir Olly Robbins dropped bombshell after bombshell when he spoke to MPs. Robbins, who was sacked as the Foreign Office’s chief civil servant, has accused Downing Street of placing the department under constant pressure to get Lord Mandelson through vetting. He also said the prime minister had tried to find an ambassadorial job for Matthew Doyle, another Labour peer who's been in trouble for a friendship with a paedophile. Where does it all leave Sir Keir Starmer?
Plus, we reveal when the next tranche of Mandelson files will be published.
- Steven Swinford, political editor, The Times
- Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday Times
- Lara Spirit, deputy political editor, The Sunday Times
Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness
Picture credit: Parliament TV
Clips: Parliament TV
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, it's Luke here. |
| 0:10.7 | As you will know from listening to This Morning's podcast, the Prime Minister, Sarker, |
| 0:15.7 | was in the House of Commons yesterday, explaining why he simply had to sack Sir Olly Robbins, |
| 0:20.6 | the head of the foreign office, |
| 0:22.4 | because of what he wasn't told about what had happened during Peter Mandelson's security vetting. |
| 0:28.3 | Well, Sir Kirstalmer said his piece yesterday. Today, Sir Olly Robbins was up in front of the |
| 0:34.0 | Foreign Affairs Select Committee, giving his side of things. |
| 0:42.0 | And our colleagues on the State of It podcast had a listen and have discussed it on their very latest episode, which we helpfully thought we'd bring to you this afternoon. |
| 0:57.0 | His reputation is at stake. Everyone is watching. It is finally time for the truth. |
| 1:03.0 | That I wasn't told that it failed security vetting. |
| 1:07.0 | When I was telling Parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable. |
| 1:12.6 | He had taken the risk, he had chosen his man, Whitehall had to follow. |
| 1:18.6 | I walked into a situation in which there was already a very, very strong expectation, |
| 1:24.6 | coming from number 10 that he needed to be in post and in America as quickly as |
| 1:30.0 | humanly possible. I simply do not accept that foreign office officials could not have informed me |
| 1:36.3 | of UK SV's recommendations. I'm afraid I don't think at the point of his appointment and four days |
| 1:44.0 | thereafter it was actually a given that he would be vetted. |
| 1:47.6 | Any members across the House will find these facts to be incredible. |
| 1:53.8 | It beggars believe. |
| 1:56.9 | Welcome to The State of It, the political podcast from The Times and the Sunday Times. |
| 2:01.4 | I'm Stephen Swinford, the Political Editor of the Times. |
| 2:04.1 | I'm Gabriel Pogrand, Whitehall editor at the Sunday Times. |
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