Olly Robbins receives six-figure compensation in Britain — The Guardian

In the United Kingdom, former head of the civil service at the Foreign Office Olly Robbins received compensation from the government that, according to The Guardian, exceeds six figures. The payment is linked to his dismissal in April by decision of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Challenge to the dismissal

Robbins applied to the High Court seeking a review of the legality of the decision to remove him from the post of the Foreign Office's most senior civil servant. In a legal claim, he argued that Starmer did not have statutory powers to dismiss him as head of the diplomatic service, and that there was effectively no dismissal procedure or that it was not fair.

According to Robbins, the FDA trade union, which represents senior civil servants, helped reach an agreement. It may bring the judicial review proceedings to an end. The government is expected to disclose the exact amount of the payment later. The publication notes that it is lower than the record £860,000 paid to former Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald after his dismissal.

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Mandelson vetting

Robbins was dismissed after The Guardian reported that he had overturned a recommendation by the UK Security Vetting Service to deny Peter Mandelson clearance. Downing Street said at the time that Robbins had lost the confidence of Starmer and then Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper over the handling of Mandelson's case.

Mandelson was dismissed because of the extent of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of sexual offences against children. At the same time, according to the publication, British services raised concerns during the vetting process over Mandelson's contacts with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel. His ties to Epstein were not the basis for the recommendation to deny clearance.

FDA General Secretary Dave Penman said the case had undermined trust between civil servants and ministers, and called on the government to quickly clarify issues regarding ministers' involvement in the candidate vetting procedure.