Overview
- The government published about 1,504 pages on Monday under a House of Commons humble address, releasing internal emails, WhatsApp threads and a handwritten note linked to Lord Peter Mandelson’s 2024 appointment as UK ambassador to Washington.
- Parts of the files were redacted or withheld at the Metropolitan Police’s request to avoid prejudicing an active criminal investigation into Mandelson, and officials say further material will be published only when it is safe to do so.
- A Cabinet Office note in the documents says Mandelson "declined to comply" with a March request to hand over information from his personal phone, limiting what the government could disclose from private devices.
- The released messages show Mandelson sharply criticising No 10 and Keir Starmer, urging a more risk‑taking approach, and include politically sensitive exchanges such as Pat McFadden asking who could be taxed to pay for benefits.
- Preparing and publishing the files cost the Cabinet Office more than £1 million, MPs will debate the tranche in Parliament, and the disclosures have deepened internal Labour tensions and intensified public and political scrutiny of the government.