Olly Robbins says No 10 created ‘environment of stress’ over Mandelson appointment
A failure to grant Peter Mandelson’s safety clearance “would have broken” relations with President Trump’s White Home, Sir Olly Robbins has mentioned.
The US’s approval of Mandelson’s place as ambassador – formally termed agrément – got here forward of the clearance, and “was delivered, … technically, simply, by one working day, by the Biden administration,” mentioned Robbins.
If, within the wake of this, Mandelson’s clearance had not been granted and his place revoked, “[Trump’s] incoming administration might nicely have commented on it publicly, and it will, sure, have induced fairly a problem within the relationship,” he added.
