Sir Olly Robbins has submitted a legal challenge over his dismissal as the Foreign Office's chief after he was sacked over the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal in April10:50, 13 Jul 2026Updated 11:16, 13 Jul 2026Sir Olly Robbins has submitted a legal challenge over being sacked as the top civil servant at the Foreign Office, the FDA union has said.‌Keir Starmer fired Sir Olly as the Foreign Office's chief in April over the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal.‌The PM responded with fury after it emerged that Lord Mandelson was made Britain's ambassador to the US despite failing his security vetting. Sir Olly was the top civil servant at the Foreign Office when the decision was made to overrule advice from UK Security Vetting (UKSV) so he could take the plum job.‌But Sir Olly said he had been under pressure to get the Labour veteran in place "as quickly as humanly possible" and accused No10 of being "dismissive" of the need to vet Lord Mandelson in the first place. He told a committee of MPs that it was "not a given" that the so-called Prince of Darkness would be vetted at all before being sent to Washington.Sir Olly's submission to the Court claims that the Prime Minister has no statutory authority to dismiss the Head of the Diplomatic Service and that, not only was there "no fair procedure" involved in his dismissal, there was "no process at all". It also says Sir Olly was given “irrational” reasons for being fired.‌Following the request for Judicial Review of his dismissal, Sir Olly said: “I bring this action reluctantly. It would have been unnecessary if the Prime Minister had simply apologised for his mistake and made amends for the distress and cost it has caused me and my family."Instead, I now have to ask the Courts to determine that the Prime Minister’s decisions were unlawful, unreasonable and to quash them.”The FDA said that the sacking was based on a “grievous misunderstanding” of how vetting works. “Rather than being under a duty to tell ministers about the process leading up to the vetting decision, Olly was under an obligation not to. The process is independent of government ministers, who are only informed of the final outcome,” the union said.‌Keir Starmer faced intense pressure over the appointment of Lord Mandelson as Britain's Ambassador to the US, with the error playing a major part in his downfall as PM.Mr Starmer sacked the Labour Veteran from the "Trump whisperer" role in September after new information revealed the closeness between Lord Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein. No10 has insisted that Lord Mandelson lied about the depth of his relationship with the late disgraced paedophile.In April, reports emerged that UKSV had not given Lord Mandelson security clearance but that the Foreign Office stepped in to override the decision and appoint him as Ambassador anyway. At the time, No10 said: “Neither the Prime Minister, nor any Government Minister, was aware that Peter Mandelson was granted Developed Vetting against the advice of UK Security Vetting until earlier this week."Article continues belowAt an evidence session at the Foreign Affairs Committee after his sacking, Sir Olly said Lord Mandelson's vetting was seen as a "borderline case".He told: "I was briefed that UKSV considered Mandelson a borderline case, and that they were leaning towards recommending that clearance be denied, but that the Foreign Office's Security Department assessed that the risks identified as of highest concern by UKSV could be managed and or mitigated."