Why Olly Robbins testimony is 'quietly devastating' for Starmer
4/21/202615 min
'The most gripping testimony' since Dominic Cummings which could prove 'extraordinary and quietly devastating' for Keir Starmer. That's the verdict of the Spectator's political editor Tim Shipman following sacked Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins's testimony today before the Foreign Affairs Committee. Tim and former FCDO mandarin Ameer Kotecha join James Heale to explain why the hearing over the Mandelson appointment was so important, the questions the session has raised – and the holes in the story that still remain.
Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons.
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James Heale· Host0:29
[on-hold music] Hello, and welcome to Coffee House Shots. I'm James Heale, and I'm joined today by Tim Shipman, the political editor at The Spectator, and Amir Kateb, former Foreign Office diplomat. Now, Tim, it's been a fairly, uh, eventful morning. We've had the 9 a.m. evidence of Sir Olly Robbins, the now defenestrated permanent secretary at the Foreign Office. Uh, what did we learn from his testimony?
Tim Shipman· Guest0:54
Well, James, I think this is the most gripping, uh, testimony before a select committee since Dominic Cummings- Mm. -uh, appeared all those years ago. It is extraordinary and quietly devastating. There are questions Robbins has not quite answered, I think it's fair to say, just to balance this up with everything that's going to follow. He hasn't really explained why he didn't have a conversation with his line manager, Sir Chris Wormald, the cabinet secretary, and he has stuck to the idea that it would have been a breach of his obligations and of the security of the vetting system if he had communicated anything more than the final decision to the politicians.