Overview
- Monday's 1,500‑page release of Mandelson documents contained very few messages between Sir Keir Starmer and Lord Peter Mandelson, with Downing Street confirming the prime minister uses WhatsApp's disappearing‑messages feature.
- Newly leaked exchanges published by The Spectator show Chief Secretary Darren Jones sent private messages to Mandelson that were not included in the official tranche, reviving questions about what the disclosure process missed.
- Several senior ministers have said they could not produce messages because they were not saved or their devices were lost or stolen, and Lord Mandelson refused to hand over his phone to the disclosure process which means some material may exist only on his device.
- Opposition parties have demanded investigations into potential breaches of record‑keeping rules, MPs have pressed for scrutiny at PMQs and the Cabinet Office has opened a formal review of WhatsApp use by ministers.
- The controversy highlights a larger governance issue: Cabinet Office guidance allows disappearing messages to limit on‑device data but requires preservation of any significant exchanges, and failures to follow that rule could trigger ethics probes and further leaks.