Full timeline of Mandelson ambassador appointment scandal as latest files released
The government on Monday released thousands of files relating to the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
The documents included email and WhatsApp exchanges between figures at the heart of the government before the controversial appointment, during Lord Mandelson’s time in office and following his departure.
Here’s a timeline of everything we know about Lord Mandelson’s appointment and the fallout that followed.
18 November 2024
In what appeared to be a gentle lobbying effort to encourage his appointment as ambassador, Lord Mandelson wrote to the then foreign secretary, David Lammy, saying the Government would “never regret” the move, according to the latest filings.
December 20, 2024
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “delighted” to announce the selection of former New Labor minister and party ambassador Lord Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US.
January 8, 2025
Senior civil servant Sir Olly Robbins has been appointed permanent secretary at the Foreign Office.
January 28, 2025
An official decision to refuse Lord Mandelson’s security clearance has reportedly been taken by the United Kingdom Security Review (UKSV).
January 29, 2025
Foreign Office officers grant precedent-developed review permission despite UKSV’s recommendation that it be refused. This allows him to see confidential information in his new role.
February 2025
Lord Mandelson makes the appointment and attends the White House welcome reception.
July 2025
Transcripts of the latest revelations reveal Lord Mandelson saying Wes Streeting’s “long, hysterical message” about Israel “reflects his maturity rather poorly”.
In an earlier WhatsApp message published by Mr Streeting, the then health secretary discussed the issue of recognizing Palestinian statehood with Lord Mandelson.
But the same person also told senior minister Pat McFadden that he had “pushed back” against Mr Streeting’s stance and criticized him in WhatsApp messages.
September 8, 2025
Pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous “birthday book”, filled with personalized notes from associates when he turns 50, has been published by the US House Oversight Committee.
It includes a message from Lord Mandelson referring to the child sex offender as his “best friend”, increasing scrutiny on the UK Government.
Further WhatsApp messages from May of the same year revealed Lord Mandelson had criticized the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) for being “irresponsible” over leaks to the press, and the DBT was subsequently excluded from discussions on a trade deal with the US.
September 10, 2025
Starmer said he “trusted” his colleague and that “due process was followed” as questions emerged about the extent of the former Labor ambassador’s links to Epstein.
Downing Street also points out to reporters that Lord Mandelson has been subject to a “thorough review”.
September 11, 2025
Sir Keir sacked Lord Mandelson following mounting pressure to sack him after leaked emails showed his peer sending supportive messages despite Epstein facing prison for sex crimes.
The State Department said the emails show “the depth and scope of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein differed materially from what was known at the time of his appointment.”
September 16, 2025
In a joint letter to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Whitehall veteran Sir Olly and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Peter Mandelson’s security review was carried out to the usual standards set for enhanced scrutiny in line with established Cabinet Office policy.”
November 3, 2025
Sir Olly and former cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald appear before MPs to answer questions about the appointment process.
Sir Olly told the Foreign Affairs Committee that “it was clear that the Prime Minister wanted to make this appointment himself.”
Meanwhile, Sir Chris said it was “normal” for security clearance to occur after appointment but before the person signs a contract and takes up the role.
February 2, 2026
Sir Keir urges his disgraced counterpart to quit the Lords after the publication of another part of the so-called Epstein files; This leads to accusations that Lord Mandelson passed sensitive information to Epstein when he was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government.
February 3, 2026
The Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation into allegations of misconduct in a public office following the accusations against Lord Mandelson.
February 4, 2026
The Prime Minister said Commons Lord Mandelson “lied repeatedly” about the depth of his friendship with Epstein during the appointment process.
The House of Commons is using an old process called a “modest appeal” motion to force the Government to publish the full dossier on Lord Mandelson’s appointment.
This triggers a behind-the-scenes fact-finding process across the Government, led by Cat Little, the permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office.
February 5, 2026
Sir Keir told reporters that a vetting carried out by the security services had “permitted him (Lord Mandelson) for this role”, amid mounting pressure over the extent of what was known about his links to Epstein.
February 8, 2026
Sir Keir’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, a long-time ally of Lord Mandelson, is leaving No 10.
“While I have not overseen the due diligence and review process, I believe this process now requires a fundamental overhaul,” he says in his resignation statement.
March 11, 2026
The first tranche of documents was published in response to the Commons’ motion for modest address.
They reveal that senior officials had concerns about the appointment and that Sir Keir had been warned of the “public reputation risk” over Lord Mandelson’s connection to Epstein and later revealed it was his choice.
The documents also include a note dated November 11, 2024; In this note, then cabinet secretary Lord Simon Case advised the Prime Minister to arrange for security clearances to be obtained for the US ambassador “before confirming your selection” if he wanted to make a political appointment.
April 16, 2026
The Guardian newspaper reported that Lord Mandelson failed a background check by security officials, but Foreign Office officials took the rare step of overruling the decision.
Sir Olly was sacked and the Government said Sir Keir was not aware until earlier that week that the former Labor leader had been given an enhanced review against the recommendation of the UK Security Review.
April 17, 2026
Sir Keir said he was “furious” and that it was “inexcusable” that he was not told that UKSV had recommended against the permit.
April 20, 2026
In a statement to the House of Commons, the Prime Minister accused Foreign Office officials of not passing on the information, saying a “deliberate decision” had been made on “repeated occasions” not to tell him that Lord Mandelson had failed the investigation.
He said he would not have gone ahead with the appointment had he known that UKSV had refused to uphold the precedent, and said he “did not mislead the House of Commons”.
April 21, 2026
After his dismissal, Sir Olly makes his statement to the Foreign Affairs Committee about the review process.
The former senior civil servant told the committee there was a “condescending attitude” towards the No 10 inquiry, but Sir Keir later said the mandarin’s evidence “confirmed” claims he had misled Parliament.
April 28, 2026
Downing Street’s former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, is also giving evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee.
He accepts it was “wrong” to recommend the Prime Minister appoint this counterpart, but said he believed Lord Mandelson was the right choice to deal with Donald Trump’s new administration.
Meanwhile, Sir Philip Barton, who was Foreign Office chief before Sir Olly, told the committee that Lord Mandelson’s relationship with “toxic, hot potato” Jeffrey Epstein was a known risk for the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, MPs voted to reject calls for a parliamentary inquiry into whether Sir Keir misled the Commons about the appointment process.
June 1, 2026
The second tranche of files regarding Lord Mandelson’s appointment has been published.
The files contain all of the files the Government plans to release, except for documents withheld at the Metropolitan Police’s request during its ongoing investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office.
The documents reveal a series of private discussions between Lord Mandelson and Government ministers, correspondence about business dealings and the colleague’s campaigning efforts to secure the chancellorship of Oxford University in 2024.
In a cable in the files, originally dated May 2025, senior minister Pat McFadden criticizes the Government’s course of action, telling Lord Mandelson: “Every meeting I have is about ‘who can we tax to benefit others’? They are asking the wrong questions.”
Elsewhere, it was also revealed that his peer had refused to hand over private WhatsApp messages for publication.
The Prime Minister’s chief secretary, Darren Jones, told the House of Commons that the messages could be disclosed through a future trial.
