However, Robbins, who opted to grant clearance to Mandelson, publicly voiced concern over the level of disclosure that the government has offered about the vetting process when he gave evidence to parliament this week.
“British national security does not benefit from that, so we have to ask whose does,” he told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday.
He added: “I reflect honestly on my wonderful colleagues who are sat in the British embassy in Moscow or in the British embassy in Beijing and are subjected to incredible pressure… and of course I find myself wondering who this helps.”
He also condemned the leak to the Guardian, which is now being investigated by the government, as “a grievous breach of national security.”
It is not known why Mandelson was not initially recommended for clearance, although Robbins specified in his evidence that it did not relate to his friendship with the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, over which he was eventually fired as ambassador.
The latest revelations about Mandelson and sacking of Robbins as head of the diplomatic service unfolded just as Britain’s King Charles prepares to visit to the United States with transatlantic relations at a low ebb.
Starmer said this week that despite the criticism aimed at him for nominating Mandelson in the first place, “nothing is going to distract me from delivering for our country.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office declined to comment, but pointed to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s remarks in the Commons promising “a full investigation” by retired judge Adrian Fulford “into this entire process and what was known, as well as the whole vetting process.”