Starmer tells civil servants to speak 'truth to power' after vetting row

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has told civil servants he values them speaking "truth to power", in a letter that acknowledges an "unsettling" period for the civil service.

The letter comes after the sacking of former Foreign Office boss Sir Olly Robbins over his role in vetting Lord Mandelson to be the UK's ambassador to the US.

Sir Olly was removed from his post last month after it emerged he had not told Sir Keir he had granted Lord Mandelson security clearance despite officials raising security concerns.

Sir Keir told MPs he found it "staggering" that "officials in the Foreign Office saw fit to withhold this information" from ministers.

Sir Olly later told a committee of MPs he had followed the proper process while under "constant pressure" from No 10 to approve Lord Mandelson's appointment.

In a letter sent to government employees across Whitehall on Wednesday afternoon, Sir Keir told them he recognised "the events of the last recent weeks have felt unsettling".

He said: "But wherever you serve, I want to be clear: these events do not define the civil service."

He added: "To those who feel exposed by recent scrutiny, let me say this: I value the 'speaking truth to power' that is the hallmark of our system.

"I want a culture where information flows freely, where risks are flagged early, and where we work together to solve problems before they become crises."

The prime minister said "the relationship between a minister and their officials relies on a bedrock of total transparency".

Sir Keir said without trust, "the partnership that sits at the heart of our constitution cannot function".

The government is investigating whether Sir Olly was given the correct information before he approved security clearance for Lord Mandelson, who was sacked as the UK's ambassador in Washington last year.

Sir Adrian Fulford, a retired judge, is conducting a review into the process.

In his letter, Sir Keir told officials: "We are fixing the processes that have failed, but we are not changing the fundamental value we place on your role."

Dave Penman, head of the FDA trade union which represents senior civil servants, accused Sir Keir of sending a "real chill throughout the civil service" following the sacking of Sir Olly.

Speaking on BBC Newsnight last month, Penman said: "Who in the civil service would now think they would be immune from when it is politically expedient to be dismissed?"

Lord McDonald, a former permanent under-secretary for the Foreign Office and head of the diplomatic service, criticised the way Sir Olly was removed from his post.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme at the time that the fact Sir Olly's removal from his position came on the same day the story about the security vetting first broke in the Guardian "shows to me that No 10 wanted a scalp, they wanted it quickly".

"I cannot see that there was any process, any fairness, any giving him the chance to set out this case and that feels to me wrong," Lord McDonald said.

Sir Olly is understood to be considering whether to take legal action over his dismissal.

The BBC has been told some Whitehall-based civil servants who received the letter found the prime minister's words "tone deaf".

One said: "I don't feel exposed by recent scrutiny, I feel exposed by a PM who has thrown the cabinet secretary and permanent secretary at the foreign office under a bus to deflect criticism."

Another compared Sir Keir to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whom they said "treated us with contempt then sent warm words".

A third official said the lack of trust between ministers and the civil service could mean "we all get more risk averse".