BBC News
Lord Mandelson has been requested to provide messages from his personal phone as part of the upcoming release of documents associated with his tenure as the UK ambassador to the United States, according to information obtained by the BBC.
The Cabinet Office is poised to make public thousands of files following his dismissal from the ambassadorial position, which will include communications between Lord Mandelson and Labour ministers and advisers. To date, they have only accessed messages from his official work phone.
Sources within the government assert that soliciting Lord Mandelson's personal messages was always part of the plan and emphasize that this request is unrelated to the theft of the phone belonging to Morgan McSweeney, the former chief of staff to Sir Keir Starmer.
It is reported that officials are in possession of some correspondence between Mandelson and McSweeney; however, the government has refrained from confirming whether any messages have been irrevocably lost due to the theft incident.
Messages from Lord Mandelson's personal phone could provide valuable insights into dialogues that might otherwise remain inaccessible.
Opposition members contend that these messages could reveal the extent of Mandelson's communications with key figures in the Labour government and assess the influence he wielded in their decision-making processes.
Lord Mandelson was dismissed from his ambassadorial role last year following disclosures concerning his association with the deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Earlier this year, Members of Parliament compelled the government to release files regarding his appointment after voting in favor of a Parliamentary motion initiated by the Conservatives.
It is understood that Lord Mandelson will be asked to submit all relevant documents as outlined in the motion, encompassing messages exchanged with ministers and McSweeney dating back to the summer of 2024.
McSweeney had long been a close political ally of Lord Mandelson, resigning from his position as chief of staff to Sir Keir in February amid scrutiny over his involvement in the Washington appointment.
An initial compilation of documents released by the Cabinet Office earlier this month indicated that the UK’s national security adviser had expressed concerns about Lord Mandelson to McSweeney.
The Cabinet Office has announced that a second, considerably larger set of documents pertaining to Lord Mandelson's appointment will be made public in the coming weeks.
McSweeney's work phone was stolen in October, a month following Lord Mandelson’s termination, but several months prior to when MPs requested the release of pertinent messages.
In a piece for the Daily Telegraph, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch remarked that there was "something fishy going on" regarding the theft of McSweeney’s phone and called for the disclosure of documents pertaining to the incident.
She noted that "some people have even suggested it would be in McSweeney's interest to walk around London waving his phone around until it was stolen."
On Thursday, the Prime Minister described the notion that McSweeney could have staged the theft of his phone as "a little bit far-fetched."
These comments came after the Metropolitan Police took the unusual measure of publishing the complete transcript of McSweeney’s call made on October 20 of the previous year, reporting that his work phone had been snatched from his hand by an individual on a bicycle as he was walking down the street.
Sir Keir has asserted that Lord Mandelson "lied" during the vetting process for his role as ambassador, and Downing Street hopes the forthcoming documents will substantiate this claim.
At the time of Lord Mandelson's appointment, it was widely known that he maintained a friendship with Epstein following the financier's initial conviction for soliciting prostitution with a minor.
Documents already released by the Cabinet Office indicate that Sir Keir had been advised that Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein presented a "general reputational risk" prior to his confirmation as US ambassador.
The police have requested that the Cabinet Office refrain from publishing certain documents due to their ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct in public office by Lord Mandelson.
One of the documents they have prevented from publication includes a vetting exchange involving three questions that McSweeney posed to Lord Mandelson about his connections to Epstein.
It is believed that these questions pertained to his ongoing communications with Epstein following the latter's first conviction for soliciting prostitution with a minor, claims that he had stayed at Epstein's residence during the financier's incarceration, and his involvement with a charity established by Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Lord Mandelson has not returned requests for comment; however, the BBC understands that his position is that he has acted without criminal intent, did not have financial motivations, and responded accurately regarding his relationship with Epstein during the vetting process.
Share this story