Starmer Reaffirms 'Truth to Power' Principle in Letter to Civil Servants After Robbins Dismissal

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer sent a letter to government employees across Whitehall on Wednesday afternoon in which he told civil servants he values them speaking "truth to power". In the letter Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged that the events of recent weeks have felt unsettling for the civil service.

He said he values the "speaking truth to power" that is the hallmark of the system and added that the relationship between a minister and their officials relies on a bedrock of total transparency.

Sir Keir Starmer said that without trust the partnership at the heart of the constitution cannot function. The letter follows the sacking last month of Sir Olly Robbins from his post as former Foreign Office boss. Sir Olly Robbins was removed after it emerged he had not told Sir Keir Starmer that he had granted Lord Mandelson security clearance despite officials raising security concerns.

Sir Keir Starmer told MPs he found it staggering that officials in the Foreign Office saw fit to withhold this information from ministers. Sir Olly Robbins told a committee of MPs that he had followed the proper process while under constant pressure from No 10 to approve Lord Mandelson's appointment.

The government is investigating whether Sir Olly Robbins was given the correct information before he approved security clearance for Lord Mandelson.

Lord Mandelson was sacked as the UK's ambassador in Washington last year. Sir Adrian Fulford, a retired judge, is conducting a review into the process. Dave Penman, head of the FDA trade union, accused Sir Keir Starmer of sending a real chill throughout the civil service following the sacking of Sir Olly Robbins.

Lord McDonald, a former permanent under-secretary for the Foreign Office and head of the diplomatic service, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that the fact Sir Olly's removal came on the same day the story about the security vetting first broke in the Guardian shows to him that No 10 wanted a scalp, they wanted it quickly.

Lord McDonald said he cannot see that there was any process, any fairness, any giving him the chance to set out his case and that feels to him wrong. Sir Olly Robbins is understood to be considering whether to take legal action over his dismissal.

The BBC reported that some Whitehall-based civil servants who received the letter found the prime minister's words tone deaf. Another compared Sir Keir Starmer 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.