by Jo Gideon, Chair, WhistleblowersUK
Was the appointment of Mandelson to the UK’s most important diplomatic role simply cronyism at its worst or is it more sinister and designed to silence even the most senior civil servants?
Whatever the answer what we have witnessed is how easily a Prime Minister who promised to put ethics at the heart of his government abandoned his commitment to the British public.
The chair of the FCDO, the Rt Hon Emily Thornberry is clearly in step with public opinion in demanding to know why full notes were not taken, or not available, and the refusal to understand that the admission of a mistake is insufficient to let anyone off the hook!
Beyond the FCDO this situation has proved too much for Labour backbenchers added their voices to challenge the PM’s judgement ahead of Sir Ollie Robbins telling the Foreign Affairs Select Committee of Number 10’s role in pushing the appointment through regardless of the risks.
Whether the Prime Minister used the “nobody told me” line (despite ignorance not being a valid defence in law), or blaming the system and sacking the most senior civil servant for doing his job in line with that system, scapegoating at an unprecedented level should not save Sir Keir as more people come forward to say they warned him about making the appointment.
There is a real lack of candour in the failure to take notes and the seemingly easy way that concerns have been dismissed. Anyone in a leadership position can be vulnerable to adverse allegations and in most professions an audit trail is mandatory. The Sir Ollie Robbins’ testimony kept bringing the committee back to the discrepancies caused by the lack of “notes”. A proper audit trail of the conversations to collaborate claims by both sides would have saved the public purse and the UK’s reputation. Allegations harassment or the description of Mandelson’s DV result as “borderline” in something that looks to be heading to the criminal courts and employment tribunal cannot be hidden behind the Civil Service Code and the need for confidentiality when national security issues were discussed. If Sir Olly finds himself in the ET he is likely to regret the absence of record keeping because historically Judges are more inclined to find on the side of the respondent (in this case the government). The timely loss of Morgan McSweeney’s mobile phone was serious because of his
connection to Mandelson and what might be lurking in its files, but then again some files will be in the cloud or other servers for the police to find.
This is a government that promised to introduce a duty of candour in law via the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, known as Hillsborough Law. The Bill has stalled over the government’s wish to exclude the security services from the duty, although rumours are leaking that this has now been overcome – but the public need and deserve more and must have day one protection from retaliation.
Whistleblowers like Sir Olly face enormous personal risk by highlighting wrongdoing and he would not have lost his job if he had had the protections outlined in our Whistleblowing Bill.
As the chair of WhistleblowersUK I again call on the Government and my former parliamentary colleagues to #BackTheBill and support legislation that defines whistleblowing in law and protects all those who speak out in the public interest, and introduces an Office of the Whistleblower to examine concerns and hold those who commit wrong to account.
If ever there was a good time for government to prove its commitment to truth and speaking out, it must be now, that would be leadership!
Come and join the discussion during #WAM2026
https://wbuk.org/whsitleblowers-awarness-month-2026-program/
