Former Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Olly Robbins has held early exploratory discussions with Andy Burnham's team about a senior security-related appointment.
The talks come after Robbins was dismissed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in April 2026 over the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal.
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Insiders say Robbins could be appointed as national security adviser in a Downing Street operation led by Burnham, who recently won the Makerfield by-election and is expected to enter the Labour leadership contest.
The prospect of Robbins returning to government has alarmed senior Whitehall officials.
They are lobbying Burnham's allies directly to drop the appointment, citing Robbins' handling of Mandelson's vetting process.
Whitehall sources reported that Robbins overturned a recommendation from UK Security Vetting to deny clearance for Mandelson, who was later dismissed as US ambassador over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
“He [Robbins] claimed he never saw the vetting file and only relied on a second-hand briefing,” said one senior Whitehall source, as reported by The i Paper.
The official further criticized the lack of written documentation surrounding the decision to bypass security concerns.
“There was no written record as to why he overruled the vetting decision and no audit trail, and that this was often his modus operandi,” the source said.
“That does not make him suitable to the kind of sensitive role he is being considered for,” added the source.
