Starmer will have no say on which Mandelson papers are released
The government has confirmed that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer cannot overrule the decision of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) over the release of documents relating to the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.
After Thursday’s meeting, the ISC announced that officials had given “written” assurances that the committee would have the final say on which documents would be released.
This directive by lawmakers to release scores of documents stems from persistent questions surrounding the peer review process for Mandelson’s appointment in 2024, particularly about what is known about his connections to convicted pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
While some of the thousands of documents are expected to be withheld for national security or foreign relations reasons, the final decision on specific redactions will rest with the ISC rather than government ministers.
The ISC confirmed in a statement that its members met with Cabinet Office officials in the early hours of Thursday morning.
He said: “Following this morning’s meeting, officials confirmed in writing to the Committee that the decision on whether to publish material referred to the ISC lies solely with the Committee.
“The Prime Minister or any other person in the Government will not be able to override the Committee’s decision to publish material referred to it.”
The committee said it is waiting to hear when the first tranche of documents will be received, how they will be transferred and how many there will be.
According to the ISC, the government has also agreed a framework with the Metropolitan Police under which documents can be released without harming the ongoing police investigation.
Lord Mandelson was arrested on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office and accused of passing sensitive information to Epstein during his time as business secretary. He was released on bail until May.
The ISC also said the Government had decided which files would fall “within the scope” of a Conservative Party-led House of Commons motion requiring those files to be published, and that material from across the Government had been collected by the Cabinet Office.
“We hope that some material will be published shortly,” the committee said.
A government spokesman said: “We are progressing rapidly to publish the first tranche of documents in early March.
“We are working closely with the ISC and have made progress on some of their demands.
“The government is very grateful to the committee for their work and is committed to co-operating fully with them to ensure these processes are timely and effective.”
