Anger across the UK's civil service (the permanent professional bureaucracy that runs government departments) has intensified following Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision to dismiss senior Foreign Office official Olly Robbins, who lost his post after failing to inform Starmer that former US ambassador Peter Mandelson had not passed security vetting. Senior officials and former cabinet secretaries argue Robbins was effectively punished for doing what Downing Street wanted — quickly processing Mandelson's appointment despite security concerns — and that his dismissal amounts to a public scapegoating. The row is being described as a new low in relations between No 10 and the civil service, with officials warning of a chilling effect on Whitehall's willingness to take risks on behalf of ministers who may not "have their backs" when things go wrong.