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Politics Weekly UK

Has Starmer’s sacking of Olly Robbins backfired?

4/23/202635 min

After Keir Starmer’s statement to the Commons and gripping evidence from the sacked top civil servant Olly Robbins, Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talk about how the story of Peter Mandelson’s vetting for his job as UK ambassador to the US, which was first broken by the Guardian last Thursday, has unfolded this week. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod

Clips

Cabinet Could Move Against Starmer
Ministers Say Starmer Is Finished
Mr Rules Breaks His Image
Open Dissent Inside Cabinet
Who Pushed Skipping Vetting?
Who’s Really In Charge?
Is This Starmer’s Partygate?

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 0· Soundbite0:00

    This is The Guardian.

  2. Speaker 1· Soundbite0:01

    Before Mandelson took up his post, UKSB recommended with red flags that clearance should be denied, and there was high concern. That that was not brought to my attention or the attention of the Foreign Secretary at the time or subsequently is a very serious error of judgment.

  3. Speaker 0· Soundbite0:30

    I regret that the due diligence process, which threw up, as I understand it, serious reputational risks, didn't color the Prime Minister's judgment in making the appointment.

  4. Speaker 2· Soundbite0:42

    It wasn't just risky, it was wrong. What, what else did you- Yeah ... need to know at that moment?

  5. Kiran Stacey· Host0:47

    I mean, look, it's a fair point, and he shouldn't have been appointed.

  6. Speaker 0· Soundbite0:49

    Will the Prime Minister finally take responsibility and go?

  7. Speaker 1· Soundbite0:54

    Yeah.

  8. Pippa Crerar· Host0:55

    I'm Pippa Carrera.

  9. Kiran Stacey· Host0:56

    And I'm Kieran Stacey.

  10. Pippa Crerar· Host0:58

    And you're listening to Politics Weekly.

  11. Kiran Stacey· Host1:00

    For The Guardian. Um, Pippa, you're supposed to be on a day off. [laughs] What are you doing here?

  12. Pippa Crerar· Host1:09

    [laughs] I've asked myself that several times today, Kieran. Yeah, I am here because I am hopeless, and obsessive, and a workaholic.

  13. Kiran Stacey· Host1:19

    [laughs] And dedicated to our listeners.

  14. Pippa Crerar· Host1:21

    Yes, of course.

  15. Kiran Stacey· Host1:21

    So thank you very much for coming in. Um, good day to come in. I think we sat here on Monday and discussed, that was the first time really we'd caught up at all

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