Lord Mandelson is expected to be asked to disclose messages from his personal mobile phone as part of the document release concerning his appointment as UK ambassador to the US, according to BBC sources.
The Cabinet Office is preparing to release thousands of files following his departure from the role, including correspondence between Lord Mandelson and Labour ministers and advisers. To date, access has been limited to the peer’s work-issued device.
Government sources maintain that requesting the additional messages from Lord Mandelson was always planned, and state that this action is unrelated to the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s mobile phone, who formerly served as chief-of-staff to Sir Keir Starmer.
Officials are believed to possess some communications between Mandelson and McSweeney; however, the government has declined to confirm whether other messages may have been compromised due to the theft.
The messages contained on Lord Mandelson’s personal phone have the potential to provide missing context to exchanges that may not be otherwise accessible.
Opposition figures suggest that the messages could reveal the frequency of his communications with individuals within the Labour government, and whether he exerted influence on their decision-making processes.
Lord Mandelson’s ambassadorship concluded last year following revelations concerning his association with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
Earlier in the year, Parliament compelled the government to release files pertaining to his appointment, following a vote in favour of a motion brought forward by the Conservative Party.
Reportedly, Lord Mandelson will be required to submit all documents within the scope of the aforementioned motion, encompassing messages with ministers and McSweeney dating back to the summer of 2024.
McSweeney had maintained a close political alliance with Lord Mandelson for several years and resigned from his position as Sir Keir’s chief-of-staff in February amid scrutiny surrounding his involvement in the Washington appointment.
An initial set of documents released by the Cabinet Office earlier in the month indicated that the UK’s national security advisor had voiced concerns regarding Lord Mandelson to McSweeney.
The Cabinet Office has indicated that a subsequent and more extensive collection of documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment will be published in the coming weeks.
McSweeney’s work phone was stolen in October, one month after Lord Mandelson’s dismissal, yet months before MPs requested the release of relevant messages.
In an article published in the Daily Telegraph, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch stated that “something fishy is going on” with respect to the loss of McSweeney’s phone, and called for the release of documents pertaining to the theft.
She stated 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”.
His remarks follow the Metropolitan Police’s unusual decision to publish the complete transcript of the call McSweeney placed on October 20 of the previous year, in which he reported that his work phone had been snatched from his hand by a young male on a bicycle while walking down the street.
Sir Keir has asserted that Lord Mandelson “lied” during the vetting process for his ambassadorship, and Downing Street has expressed hope that the published documents will support this assertion.
It was a matter of public record at the time of Lord Mandelson’s appointment that he had maintained a friendship with Epstein following the financier’s initial conviction for soliciting prostitution with a minor.
Documents previously released by the Cabinet Office show that Sir Keir was advised that Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein posed a “general reputational risk” prior to his confirmation as US ambassador.
Police have requested that the Cabinet Office withhold certain documents from publication pending their investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office by Lord Mandelson.
One document that they have restricted from publication is a vetting exchange involving three questions that McSweeney posed to Lord Mandelson regarding his ties to Epstein.
It is believed that these questions pertained to his continued contact with Epstein following his initial conviction for soliciting prostitution with a minor, reports that he had stayed at Epstein’s home while the financier was in prison, and his association with a charity founded by Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Lord Mandelson has not responded to requests for comment; however, the BBC understands that his position is that he has not engaged in any criminal behavior, was not motivated by financial gain, and accurately answered questions regarding his relationship with Epstein during the vetting process.