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Downing Street plotted to give Keir Starmer's former communications chief a top diplomatic job, bombshell new evidence has revealed. Sir Olly Robbins, the former Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office, said Number 10 wanted him to look at "available head of mission jobs" for Matthew Doyle.

Lord Doyle, the ex-Downing Street Director of Communications, was later suspended from the Labour Party over his links to a convicted paedophile. Doyle campaigned for former Labour councillor Sean Morton, after Morton had been charged with child sex offences in 2017. Morton was subsequently convicted. And Sir Olly told MPs he was told to keep the astonishing bid to give Doyle a job secret - with even the Foreign Secretary kept in the dark.

Sir Keir is already facing a crisis over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson - who was also a Labour peer - as ambassador to the US.

Sir Olly said that there had been "several discussions initiated by No 10" about finding a head of mission role for Lord Doyle. He said the talks took place in March 2025, before Lord Doyle's suspension.

He told MPs: "I was under strict instruction not to discuss that with the then foreign secretary, which was uncomfortable."

Sir Olly said: "It was serious enough for the No 10 private office to ring up the head of the diplomatic service and ask for a forward look of available head of mission jobs. And that's the point of which I thought I needed to lay down some markers.

"The No 10 private office were clear that this was so sensitive because it was about the Prime Minister's own dispositions for his own senior staff that I should keep that for myself for now."

Dame Emily Thornberry asked Sir Olly whether he could remember making calls to the Foreign Office saying: "Can you get a job for X's mates, but don't tell the Foreign Secretary?"

The civil servant said it was so long ago he could not remember the terms of the phone call. He added: "I don't think it's completely surprising that the Prime Minister would be so sensitive about the way in which he was dealing with a member of his senior team, and particularly his director of communications... that he would want that kept to a very, very tight circle at the time."

Sir Olly said that the inquiries were made towards the beginning of his tenure as top civil servant at the Foreign Office, during a time of significant redundancies in the department.

He added: "I found it very hard to think how I would explain to the office what the credentials of Matthew were to be in an important head of mission role when I was in danger of making very senior, very experienced diplomats [redundant]."

The bombshell testimony will fuel claims Downing Street was trying to pressure civil servants to help their own allies.

Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins revealed how Downing Street applied "constant pressure" to clear Lord Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the United States.

Sir Olly told the foreign affairs committee that Number 10 repeatedly asked "has this been delivered yet?", adding: "[There was] never any interest, as far as I recall, in whether, but only an interest in when." And Sir Olly even revealed there was a "dismissive approach" to vetting from No 10.

Sir Olly said: "A position that was taken by the Cabinet Office was there was no need to vet Mandelson.

"He was a member of the House of Lords, he was a Privy Councillor, the risks attending his appointment were well known and had made clear to the Prime Minister before appointment.

"Now in the end the FCDO insisted, put its foot down. I understand that my predecessor had to be very firm in person. But that was a live debate at the time of the announcement and I think it's important to make that very clear to the committee."

And the United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) considered Lord Mandelson a "borderline case", Sir Olly said.

The former senior civil servant told the Foreign Affairs Committee: "I was briefed that UKSV considered Mandelson a borderline case and that they were leaning towards recommending that clearance be denied, but that the Foreign Office's security department assessed that the risks identified as of highest concern by UKSV could be managed and/or mitigated.

"I was also told that the risks did not relate to Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

"And I was told that UKSV acknowledged, I don't know in what way, but acknowledged that the Foreign Office might wish to grant clearance with appropriate risk management."

The former Foreign Office chief said it was not a "given" that Lord Mandelson would be vetted for his appointment as US ambassador.

He told MPs: "It was not a ... I'm afraid I don't think at the point of his appointment and for days thereafter it was actually a given that he would be vetted.

"If you look at the documents submitted under the humble address there is no stipulation from number 10 that he should be vetted.

"The welcome that was sent to him immediately afterwards doesn't say welcome to the Foreign Office subject to vetting; the announcement put out on December 20 says that he will be out early in the new year, it does not say subject to vetting."