Brexit supporters have been infuriated after Remainer Sir Ollie Robbins emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Simon Case as Cabinet Secretary.
Robbins faced calls for him to resign after speaking profusely about Brexit negotiations in a Brussels bar in 2019 but has been invited to take the top job by Sue Gray, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, after a series of private meetings.
Case has been under fire for his involvement in the “Partygate” scandal and is due to step down from the Cabinet Office early next year.
Speculation that Mr Robbins will replace Mr Case as Starmer’s top official comes amid growing concerns about recent appointments’ close ties to the Labour party.
But criticism of Mr Robbins as a potential candidate for the job came after he served as Britain’s chief negotiator during Prime Minister Theresa May’s failed attempt to secure a deal with the EU.
Mr Robbins, who left the civil service after Boris Johnson’s landslide victory in 2019, negotiated a deal that was rejected three times by MPs.
May’s Withdrawal Agreement was criticised as softening Britain’s departure from the EU and she failed to extract further concessions on the Northern Ireland backstop.
GB News spoke to several prominent Brexit supporters about the rumours swirling around Whitehall.
Former Brexit minister David Jones, who stepped down as Clwyd West MP ahead of the 2024 general election, told GB News: “Ollie Robbins was the architect of Theresa May’s Chequers scheme.”
Latest developments:
Sue Gray was announced as Sir Keir Starmer’s new chief of staff in March.“If that had been done, we would have been locked in the EU regime indefinitely, with effectively no way out.”
“If he were to come back in a similar position I would be very concerned.”
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former Brexit Opportunities Minister, added: “Together with proposals to reintroduce free movement for under-30s, this is evidence that this Government is trying to reverse Brexit.”
“Ollie Robbins’ approach to negotiations with the EU has been to raise the white flag at the first opportunity.”
David Campbell-Bannerman, a former MEP who campaigned for the Brexit group Grassroots Out in 2016, added: “There seems to be a very close relationship between Labour and Robins, who gave us the disastrous Chequers agreement.”
“Will he side with the UK this time around or will he still side with the EU? This suggests a serious betrayal of Brexit is on the way.”
But not all Brexiteers have expressed concern about Mr Robbins potentially joining Starmer’s government.
Ollie Robbins and former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab
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Steve Baker, the former chairman of the European Research Group, who lost his Wycombe seat on July 4, told GB News: “We expect that in due course there will be a proper competition for the position and we hope that Ollie will be able and willing to apply. There is no chance that this is set in stone.”
The former Brexit secretary added: “Ollie Robbins is the consummate bureaucrat, a true civil servant with a brilliant strategic mind and the highest standards, who is deeply respected across Whitehall. I fully support his appointment as Cabinet Secretary.”
“It is clear that the problems with Brexit strategy during his tenure are the result of the Prime Minister’s political decisions. I am confident that Olly will make a significant contribution to the development of the nation.”
But Labour has also faced growing criticism over decisions to appoint several of its officials to key positions in the civil service.
Mitchell Barnes Jackson joined as Gray’s executive assistant, and Annie Rose Peterman took the cushy job of scheduler for the chancellor.
Pro-Labour think tank director Jess Sargent has also been appointed constitutional reform adviser to the Cabinet Office, while former banker Ian Caulfield has become investment director at the Treasury after donating £20,000 to MPs.
But Labour sources point out that past Conservative governments have also given former staff short-term contracts.
GB News has contacted the Labour Party for comment.
