LONDON (AP) — A dismissed British civil service leader revealed Tuesday that he experienced intense political pressure to expedite Peter Mandelson’s selection as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States, even while security issues remained unresolved.
Olly Robbins, who previously led the Foreign Office before Prime Minister Keir Starmer terminated him last week, testified before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee about what he described as an “atmosphere of pressure.”
Robbins explained there was “a very, very strong expectation” that Mandelson “needed to be in post and in America as quickly as possible.”
The Prime Minister now confronts mounting demands for his resignation following disclosures that Mandelson received the critical diplomatic assignment even after security clearance failures.
