Do Olly Robbins’ actions stand up to scrutiny? | Letters
While watching Olly Robbins give evidence at the Commons foreign affairs committee (Olly Robbins’ account of Mandelson vetting piles pressure on Keir Starmer, 21 April), what I heard was that Robbins – who boasted of his quarter century as a civil servant and who had been appointed to one of the highest positions in government – felt unable to resist the pressure of an unspecified source he called “Downing Street” regarding perhaps the most important and far-reaching foreign post of all,Robbins showed little will to discover the detail of Peter Mandelson’s failure to gain clearance and, incredibly and most unlike a civil servant, he decided not to keep a record of what he described as a “crucial” meeting,He also appeared to not distinguish between reporting the fact that there had been an issue with Mandelson’s clearance and explaining the details of the issue, which he correctly said should have remained confidential,But he then broke that principle by disclosing a specific element in the vetting, that the reservations about Mandelson did not involve links with Jeffrey Epstein,“I was new to the job” and it would have been “very difficult” to deny Mandelson clearance do not wash – he’s paid to do this kind of thing.
Could you trust this man to speak truth to power, to preserve constitutional values against pressure from elected officials? Or would you expect him just to go along with what was asked for?Paul GriseriLondon The controversy surrounding Peter Mandelson’s appointment is being framed as a matter of error and miscommunication,The evidence suggests something more serious,Olly Robbins’ testimony points to sustained pressure to secure the appointment, with little tolerance for delay,That is not a system reaching a conclusion; it is a conclusion being driven through a system,Keir Starmer’s case rests on a technocratic claim: trust the process.
But that depends on the process being free to operate before decisions are fixed.Here, the appointment was announced before security vetting had concluded, and the atmosphere described by Olly Robbins made refusal “very difficult indeed”.The prime minister says he was not informed of the adverse recommendation.That may be so.But if an appointment was sufficiently prioritised to be driven through the system, it is difficult to see how it was not equally central at the point where responsibility ultimately sits.
A system commands confidence only if it can contradict the decisions made in its name.If priority flows through it, but critical observation does not return, it ceases to safeguard and instead confirms.The question is not whether the system failed, but whether it was ever permitted to succeed in its most important function – to stop a decision.Dr Simon NiederChesterfield, Derbyshire The vetting row (Robbins response to ‘cover-up’ question reveals debate over Mandelson vetting file, 22 April) reminds me of a Home Office term I learned while seconded there in the 2000s: the “whim of iron”.It described how a minister’s casual remark could solidify into an apparently immovable instruction by the time it reached frontline staff.
We were ordered to pilot an initiative on an estate hit by a high‑profile murder.Local commanders said that it was the wrong place and proposed a better one.Civil servants insisted the location was fixed.Only when my boss met the minister did it emerge that it had been no more than an offhand thought and he was happy for us to listen to local concerns and change it.It’s a reminder of how easily a passing notion can harden into policy once it enters the system.
Terry O’Hara Maghull, Merseyside If we adapt Churchill’s famous comment about democracy, we can say that one thing worse than politicians running the country is people who are not politicians running the country (It’s a nightmare on Downing Street: Starmer has no one left to blame for this Mandelson horror show, 21 April),Geoff ReidWorsbrough, South Yorkshire Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section,
Bill banning people born after 2008 from buying tobacco clears UK parliament
A bill banning anyone born after 2008 from buying tobacco in the UK has completed its progress through parliament in a move that ministers hope will create a “smoke-free generation”.Under the tobacco and vapes bill anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 will never be able to be legally sold tobacco across the UK, in an effort to save lives and reduce the burden on the NHS.The bill will become legislation when it receives royal assent next week. Its long journey through both houses of parliament began when it was introduced on 5 November 2024 and ended on Tuesday, when the House of Lords approved amendments made by MPs in House of Commons.Ministers hope it will end the sale of tobacco products altogether over time and break the cycle of addiction and the disadvantages associated with tobacco
Man admits rape and religiously aggravated assault after court confrontation
A man who racially abused a Sikh woman as he raped her has pleaded guilty to the assault after being confronted in court by a member of the public.John Ashby pleaded guilty to rape, religiously aggravated assault, intentional strangulation, and robbery of the woman at her home in Walsall.Ashby initially pleaded not guilty but unexpectedly changed his pleas after he was sworn at by a member of the public in Birmingham crown court.The 32-year-old, of no fixed abode, asked to see his barrister and changed his pleas about an hour after being sworn at and told to “sort your shit out” by a member of public who approached the dock.The victim, who is in her 20s, was due to give evidence on Tuesday
Gut microbiome can reveal risk of Parkinson’s, scientists say
Changes to microbes that live in the gut can identify people at greater risk of Parkinson’s disease long before symptoms develop, according to work that also raises hopes for new therapies.Researchers discovered signature changes in the gut microbiome that are more pronounced in people with a genetic risk for Parkinson’s and even more stark in those diagnosed with the disease.The signature could help doctors spot patients at risk of Parkinson’s years before they display clear symptoms and suggests that healthier diets and treatments that reshape the microbiome might prevent or delay the disease.Prof Anthony Schapira, the head of clinical and movement neurosciences at University College London and lead investigator on the study, said it was the first time a microbial signature in Parkinson’s patients had been seen in people with a genetic susceptibility but had yet to develop symptoms. The signature appears to become stronger as the disease progresses
Trustpilot hosts reviews of illegal casinos, raising concern among MPs
Trustpilot, the reviews website that offers to “find a company you can trust”, is hosting ratings of illegal casinos, raising concerns in Westminster about the potential risks posed to consumers.Unlicensed casino operators linked to financial harm, addiction and even suicide have flooded the UK market in recent years, often targeting people who are trying to limit their gambling by “self-excluding” from licensed operators.Despite this, Trustpilot hosts reviews of some of the largest unlicensed sites, exposed in a recent investigation into the illegal Santeda casino network by the Guardian and Investigate Europe, as if they were legitimate businesses.Analysis by the Guardian found reviews for brands including Santeda’s MyStake, Velobet and Goldenbet, which do not have a licence from the Gambling Commission.Offering gambling services without a licence from the regulator is a criminal offence
‘It’s soul-destroying’: struggle to house vulnerable children can leave breaking law as only option
The sinking feeling is familiar now, says Anna*. It’s Friday, the clock is ticking, and there is a vulnerable child in her care for whom – despite hitting the phones for days – she cannot find a place. Once the foster carers have been exhausted, and the registered private children’s homes begged, there is nothing for it but to look elsewhere.“It always seems to be on a Friday that you are struggling to place a child,” says the social worker. “They need somewhere safe tonight
The fight against medical misogyny has a long way to go | Letters
I welcome the relaunched women’s health strategy (Streeting relaunches women’s health strategy to tackle ‘medical misogyny’, 14 April) but with caution. The system appears responsive, but the root causes in health inequality outcomes remain untouched.It names urgent issues many women have long experienced: navigating the gynaecology referral queue that would stretch over 191 miles (if waiting in person), medical gaslighting, delayed diagnoses and systemic bias.However, Wes Streeting’s tenacity on centering all women’s “voices”, and ensuring that no woman is left fighting to be heard isn’t convincing, particularly when women of colour have been crying out loud for years, with little to no change in our reproductive health outcomes.Many of us know what that feels like: seeing a GP about severe period pain and trying to explain how it disrupts our life
Zoologist, author and presenter Desmond Morris dies aged 98
V&A East Storehouse and Norwich Castle among finalists for museum of the year
Letter: Sir Neil Cossons obituary
‘Women want to experience pleasure’: how the female gaze caught the attention of film, TV and fiction
Yann Martel: ‘I hate the rich people of this world – of which I’m one, because of Life of Pi’
Kae Tempest on creativity and his gender transition: ‘I’m just glad to be alive’