UK publishes Mandelson files revealing criticism of Starmer government and security vetting concerns

LONDON — The UK government on Monday published more than 1,000 pages of documents related to Peter Mandelson's short-lived tenure as ambassador to the US, revealing messages in which he described No 10 as "beleaguered and bereft" and criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership.

In a July 2025 exchange with Pat McFadden, then a Cabinet Office minister and now work and pensions secretary, Mandelson said of the No 10 operation: "It is beleaguered and bereft. It requires complete revamp and infusion of purpose and confidence to get anywhere." Earlier, on 2 May 2025, Mandelson wrote to McFadden: "Keir lacks verve as does the Cabinet as a whole."

The files also show Mandelson described Health Secretary Wes Streeting as "pathetic" and going through an "early mid life crisis" over his intervention on Gaza in July 2025. Mandelson called Ed Miliband's response to Tony Blair's net zero comments "so personal and stupid."

Mandelson wrote to then-foreign secretary David Lammy before his appointment: "I would make sure you never regret it" regarding his appointment as ambassador.

The documents reveal that Foreign Office staff advised Mandelson to send a "handful of names" to security vetting officers to appear comprehensive. An unnamed Foreign Office official told Mandelson: "That will reassure the vetting team that you've been comprehensive, even if it's all quite artificial." Mandelson received sensitive briefings about Foreign Office work, including planned meetings with the head of MI6, before completing developed vetting clearance.

Mandelson was sacked as UK ambassador to the US in September 2025 after revelations about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. He is under police investigation for alleged misconduct in public office; he was arrested in February 2026 and released on bail, and has not been charged.

No 10 cut the Department for Business and Trade out of trade talks in May 2025 over leak concerns. In a WhatsApp exchange, then-No 10 communications director Steph Driver told Mandelson: "We cut DBT out of conversations today, the risk is too high."

Mandelson complained about the gift of a red box for US President Donald Trump, saying: "This is like something out of the Thick of It."

Mandelson lobbied Labour ministers including Emma Reynolds, Ed Miliband, and Georgia Gould to vote for him as chancellor of Oxford University in 2024; he lost to William Hague.

Mandelson urged No 10 not to say anything "disobliging" about Nigel Farage in response to a Sun on Sunday story.

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, told MPs that some messages between Mandelson and ministers were unavailable due to disappearing messages or device changes. Jones said: "I can confirm that we have conducted multiple rounds of discovery from relevant ministers, special advisers and officials in line with the motion passed by the House. However, the House should note that some messages may not have been backed up where devices may have been changed or disappearing messages were turned on for reasonable and permitted reasons, including before the dismissal of Peter Mandelson, or the passing of the humble address, myself included."

The release follows a previous tranche of documents in March that showed Starmer had been warned about risks of appointing Mandelson, including his ties to Epstein and previous resignations from government. The vetting agency had flagged Mandelson's connections to China, Russia, and Israel before his appointment, according to documents published on 27 May.