The former Labour minister and former UK ambassador to the United States refused to provide Keir Starmer's Executive with the messages stored on his personal phone, which were requested as part of the disclosure process of documentation related to his controversial diplomatic appointment.
According to a note released this Monday, the Government demanded from Mandelson, through his legal representatives, on March 31 "any information stored on his personal phone," but he refused to comply with the request. The request is part of the parliamentary procedure initiated in February by the opposition to force Starmer's cabinet to make public all files relating to the appointment, including the former ambassador's instant messaging communications.
Another document published on the same day states that Mandelson assured the then Foreign Secretary David Lammy that he would not regret proposing him for the ambassadorial post in Washington, in a handwritten note dated November 18, 2024. "If you intend to appoint me, I will ensure that you never regret it," he wrote, emphasizing that "superhuman skills, a lot of luck, and a huge team effort" would be needed to safeguard British interests under Donald Trump's presidency and warning that "a lot was at stake," including the relationship with the European Union and China, among other aspects.
Other disclosed exchanges show that Mandelson conveyed to the then Secretary of Intergovernmental Relations, Pat McFadden, his impression that disorder reigned in Number 10 Downing Street and that both Starmer and his team "lack dynamism" and need "more charisma." "I was at Number 10 after seeing you. It is in a precarious and desolate situation. It needs a complete overhaul and an injection of purpose and confidence to achieve something," he wrote to him in one of those messages. Along the same lines, he maintained that in the prime minister's circle "they do not work as a team" and that "none of them really know what Keir thinks or wants." "In fact, most don't even believe Keir knows what he wants," he added in another conversation.
Mandelson also expressed his doubts about Starmer's management in a dialogue with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions, Torsten Bell, where he described the situation as "chaos" because the Government does not develop policies "well enough."
The second batch of files released this Monday by the Executive is divided into three volumes and totals 1,504 pages with diverse internal material, such as emails, WhatsApp messages, letters, and handwritten notes.
Conservatives denounce gaps in the files
From the opposition bench, the shadow conservative minister for Northern Ireland, Alex Burghart, stated before the House of Commons that some members of the Government have not submitted their messages and that Starmer's name "is practically non-existent" in the 1,000 pages of newly released documents. "It's as if, somehow, he had appointed Peter Mandelson ambassador without leaving any trace of that decision," he said, referring to a publication process that has cost over one million pounds sterling.
Already in mid-March, the British Executive had released a first batch of papers on the controversial appointment of Mandelson, tarnished by his links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. On that occasion, it was revealed that senior officials had warned Starmer of the impact it could have on his image to include the former Labour minister.
Mandelson, who was minister for Northern Ireland and responsible for Finance in Tony Blair's era, was removed from his ambassadorial post in September 2025 after numerous emails linking him to Epstein came to light, and he subsequently left the Labour Party in early February.
On January 30, the United States Department of Justice made public more than three million files on the Epstein case. Among them are three transfers in Mandelson's name for $25,000 each (just over 21,000 euros), sent between 2003 and 2004 from the tycoon's accounts at JP Morgan.
The former European Trade Commissioner is being investigated for allegedly providing Epstein with confidential information about the 500 billion euro bailout that the Eurozone was preparing to approve in 2010, when he was part of the government of then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown (2007-2010). The released documents, which include personal messages between the two, also contain a photograph of Mandelson in his underwear with a woman whose face is hidden. Furthermore, the politician stayed at Epstein's Manhattan residence in 2009, while the latter was under house arrest for child prostitution offenses.